Court experts' tasks should be better specified to ensure irrelevant and unnecessary work does not result in overspending, the Labour Party said yesterday.

Justice spokesman José Herrera believes a reform is needed in the way court experts are appointed and their fees should be regulated - the court paid €855,572 to court experts in 2007 and €433,083 until July this year.

This reform, however, should be done with caution as experts play an important role in the outcome of court inquiries and the justice system, he added.

Dr Herrera stressed he disagreed that the government should be involved in the selection of the experts, as recently suggested by Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici. This could hinder the independence of the judiciary especially if the court is looking into matters of a political nature, Dr Herrera said.

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