The government does not appear to be keen on updating the law to ensure it allows court proceedings to be recorded digitally rather than just on electromagnetic tapes, despite a controversy last week which halted court proceedings.
Asked if there were plans to amend the law to allow the use of recently installed digital recorders, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said: “On August 24, the Attorney General filed a note in the Criminal Court wherein reference was made to technical advice which contradicted the assertion made in your question.”
The Attorney General’s note came after Nationalist MP and defence lawyer Franco Debono – who had spent months pushing the government publicly to invest in digital recorders for the courts – submitted in court last week that the law had not been updated accordingly. (According to the Electromagnetic Recording of Proceedings Act, which came into effect on May 9, 1980, witnesses’ testimony must be recorded by “any electromagnetic means”).
He raised the issue shortly after it emerged that the testimony of four witnesses in a case against his client over a fatal hit-and-run accident had not been recorded because of some problem with the new system. He asked for the court’s direction.
This prompted Magistrate Miriam Hayman to alert the Justice Minister to the fact that the law governing the recording of witnesses had not yet been amended and as it stood did not seem to contemplate the digital system.
But the Attorney General quoted “technical advice” to the contrary. The spokesman for the Justice Ministry did not name its advisors.
The magistrate is now expected to decide the matter.
However, when contacted yesterday, Dr Debono said he would be replying to the Attorney General’s note imminently and requesting the appointment of a court expert to determine the issue.
The same error occurred in another case this week. In both cases, the testimonies had to be recorded all over again.
Asked how the government had selected which digital equipment to install, a spokesman for the Justice Ministry said the courts consulted the “recording technician” of Parliament where a similar system had been installed.
The technician had carried out repairs on the old recording system at court on several occasions so was familiar with its requirements, the spokesman added. A system similar to Parliament’s was installed at Hall 10 for testing to ensure it suited the court’s needs.
The spokesman said a call for quotations was then issued to two suppliers of this particular equipment.
“Since the call for quotations was requested for one particular make and model, direct order approval was sought for the cheapest quotation submitted. The recording equipment was procured in accordance with Public Procurement Regulations.”