The president of the Chamber of Advocates said today that he marvelled at how people were still accepting appointments to the Bench, given the way how the state and society had eroded the respect which was due to judges and magistrates.

Speaking this morning at the opening of the Forensic Year, Dr Andrew Borg Cardona said the remuneration and pension given to judges and magistrates did not match their commitment, responsibilities, qualities and integrity. The bench was also not being treated with the dignity it deserved.

Society, he said, was not giving the Bench due respect. Society expected accountability from the Bench yet it was not ready to give the Bench what was expected of it.

All this, Dr Borg Cardona said, was not the fault of anybody in particular, but it was everybody's fault.

The media allowed criticism from everyone about anything, as if everyone was as learned as the judges. Successive administrations had, over the years, eroded what used to make the Bench attractive for those who held the legal field dear.

Now was the time to declare that enough was enough. The judges could not act like workers who asked for more. Therefore, it was up to society to act.

The Executive and Parliament needed to give a clear signal that the Bench was special. There could be nothing but agreement on the material and real respect which the judiciary should command, Dr Borg Cardona said.