Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday described the case of a judgment put off for 11 years as simply unacceptable and showing the need for radical justice reform.

“I could be diplomatic and say there is already a law in place under which a party can ask for the judge’s replacement in a particular case. But I am not going to give you a diplomatic answer,” he said.

“This case is not acceptable and is casting a bad light on the good work carried out by other members of the judiciary.”

He said this was further evidence, if any was needed, that radical reforms were long overdue.

Yesterday Times of Malta revealed that a libel case instituted in 1997 by former Minister Louis Galea against Etienne St John, then editor of Labour’s One TV, had been postponed for judgment for the 33rd time by Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef.

Asked whether his promises were mere rhetoric – similar to the ones made by former justice ministers – Dr Bonnici pledged that “this time the government will give its best shot at reform”. Acknowledging that this was no easy task, as reforms in this sector needed wide consultation and agreement with the Opposition and the judiciary, Dr Bonnici insisted that “the government has the political will to make the best effort to succeed”.

While unable to guarantee that his proposals would go through, he said a new set of laws was being drafted and a new consultation process would be launched in the coming weeks.

“We need radical reforms and not just cosmetic ones. We cannot go on with all these delays.

“We will also tackle issues concerning the independence of justice and quality as delays are not the only problem we have.”

On the same day, Mr Justice Micallef put off several other cases which were brought before him and have been awaiting judgment for years.

Some examples include a case between Anthony Meli and Gasan Mamo – postponed for judgment 22 times since May 2009; a case between MSD Ltd and the Contracts Department, put off 20 times since 2006, and Iklin Ltd v Notary Mark Anthony Sammut – which has been awaiting judgment since May 2006 and postponed 15 consecutive times.