Mistakes in the Justice Reform Commission report could have been avoided had it been given time to carry out appropriate consultation, the Chief Justice said yesterday.

The mistakes made due to pressure to draw conclusions quickly did not cause any damage but had similar mistakes been made in a judgment the consequences would be far more serious, he said.

The Government set up the Justice Reform Commission, headed by former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello, shortly after the election in March.

Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, who was speaking at the opening of the forensic year, said the report contained “incorrect facts, existing legal provisions that were not catered for, failure to update current legal practices and superfluous recommendations that were already implemented”.

Judicial reform and the administration of justice, however, went hand in hand with resources at the judiciary’s disposal, which badly needed to be updated.

He called on the Government to set the ball rolling not only with regard to the needs of the judiciary but also in appointing new judges because four of his colleagues were set to retire in the coming year.

Chief Justice Camilleri spoke about the “indescribable sorrow and burden” that he felt when the late judge Ray Pace had been arraigned over bribery.

He said the judiciary was shaken right down to its roots and had lost a lot because of what had happened.

Public trust in the members of the judiciary was “radically reduced” precisely because the actions of one reflected on all of them, he said.

“No worse damage could have been done. Every member of the judiciary felt humiliated, saddened and sorrowful about what had happened.”

The Chief Justice had asked himself how he could put the public’s mind at rest about the inte-grity of judiciary and also lift his colleagues’ morale.

He said he found a lot of comfort and consolation from Archbishop Paul Cremona during the New Year’s Day meeting and also from his colleagues, whom he thanked.

The people had a right to expect justice that was impartial and not contaminated and the judiciary as a whole needed to win back what it, as a college, had lost, so the people could be secure in the knowledge that the judiciary was at its service.

The president of the Chamber of Advocates, Reuben Balzan, pointed out that for the past three years he had spoken about judicial reform in his annual speech and this year would be no different.

Every member of the judiciary felt humiliated, saddened and sorrowful about what had happened

He said that in other European countries the number of members of the judiciary was far higher than in Malta. Comparing statistics, Dr Balzan said that Luxembourg – which had a similar population size – had 188 adjudicators against Malta’s 42.

He used the statistics to sustain his argument that swelling the judiciary’s ranks was the only way to solve the problem of cases taking too long to decide.

Referring to the recent news that the law course entry requirements were to be relaxed, Dr Balzan said he feared this would lead to a large number of mediocre graduates.

He said the legal profession and financial services sector required lawyers of a certain calibre to safeguard citizens’ rights. He expressed disappointment at how legal studies, proposed as a subject at sixth form, was dropped shortly after it was announced.

Speaking during Mass before the official ceremony at the courts, Auxiliary Bishop Charles Scicluna, a lawyer, also referred to the entry requirements to the law course in his homily, saying: “We need to ensure that the legal profession is given people who know what they are doing and capable of carrying the responsibility.”

He asked the congregation to pray for those who had to make important decisions about this issue.

The judiciary had to be the guarantors of freedom and protectors of the poor. Describing the legal profession as a vocation, he said the judiciary did not only have to interpret the law creatively but also respect the fundamental principles of natural justice.

Justice should be handed down equally and lawyers should have respect for diversity, adding that they should pray to the Holy Spirit to help them in their jobs. ­