Parliament must legislate for punishment to be standard whether an accused is charged in the Criminal Court or in the Court of Magistrates.

This follows a decision by the European Court of Human Rights which turned down a request by Malta for the case John Camilleri against Malta, decided in January, to be referred to the Grand Chamber, which is the most supreme court. The January judgement is now binding on the country.

The case concerned the right of the Attorney General to decide whether to indict an individual before the Criminal Court or the Court of Magistrates. The case in question was about possession of drugs and the difference between one court and another was that while the punishment before the Criminal Court was from four years to life, the punishment before the Magistrates' Court ranged from six months to 10 years.

The European Court found that such a provision created uncertainty and while the question of fairness of the trial was an admissible issue, it did not need to continue to examine the matter also under this aspect.

The Justice Reform Commission, headed by Judge Giovanni Bonello, also referred to the matter recently and called on Parliament to intervene.

Dr Joseph Brincat appeared for John Camilleri before the European Court of Human Rights .