As I was in the process of reviewing the First Document for Public Consultation prepared by The Commission for the Holistic Reform of the Justice System (dated May 31, 2013) I became perplexed by the true intention of the document – whether it was truly intended to improve the judicial process or to create jobs for the boys.

In the first few pages of the document, I observed the following proposals for three new committees or commissions: (1) “The Judicial Appointments Commission shall be appointed by the Constitution of Malta and shall be specifically entrusted with recommending to Government the appointment of members of the judiciary subject to a call for applications. The Judicial Appointments Commission shall consist of six members, four of its members shall be very conversant with the legal profession and the courts such as former judges and magistrates.

(2) “The Judicial Studies Committee shall be established by law.

(3) “The Constitution of Malta sets up a Judicial Discipline Commission with powers to discipline members of the judiciary. Four of its members shall be very conversant with the legal profession and the courts such as former judges and magistrates.”

With regards to salaries for judges the Commission for the Holistic Reform of the Justice System proposes that “the salaries of members of the judiciary shall increase in a way that reflects salaries and pensions of European members of the judiciary”.

And who will pay for all this? Yes, The Commission for the Holistic Reform of the Justice System has thought of this as well. The 10th recommendation, namely the financing justice reform, states: “There should be a yearly vote appearing in the budget of the ministry responsible for justice so that this reform will be implemented in its entirety and the necessary funds will be made available for its implementation”. In other words, by the taxpayer.

As I noticed some anomalies, I sent an e-mail to the Secretary of this Commission to have these rectified, but unfortunately received no response. It is thus clearly apparent that the main aim of this commission is not public consultation for the reform of the justice system, but the creation of jobs for the boys with very high salaries at taxpayers’ expense.

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