The government’s drug court reform was purely “cosmetic” and only focused on a building while failing to address the problem of abuse, Labour Justice spokesman Jose Herrera said yesterday.

Courts have to be free to issue financed penalties as an alternative to jail

While pointing out that the opposition agreed with setting up a specialised drugs court, Dr Herrera said the reform also had to specifically focus on legal issues.

The government’s proposed reform was “cosmetic” because the location where the cases were going to be heard was irrelevant,” he told a news conference.

Announced recently by Justice Minister Chris Said, the idea of setting up a drugs court was floated by rebel Nationalist backbencher Franco Debono last November.

The Labour Party had expected the government to launch a consultation process with all the stakeholders, Dr Herrera said.

Maltese laws were set up over a number of years with various amendments. However, these laws were not enough to help rehabilitate people found guilty of drug possession, he pointed out. The drug laws jarred with the Convention for Dangerous Drugs, signed by Malta, which called for a law focused on drug cultivation.

In Malta, drugs cultivation is considered as trafficking and those found guilty ended up in prison, Dr Herrera said.

The law courts had to be given the freedom to issue financial penalties as an alternative to jail, especially in light of the serious drug problem in prison.

The drugs court should have a team of experts to help give the correct punishment, which would focus more on rehabilitation.

Dr Herrera also mentioned a number of anomalies that should be addressed, including the Attorney General’s absolute power to decide whether an accused should face a trial by jury or not.