A Magistrate has again warned against the courts being dragged into needless pique in Gozo.

He also called on the police to carefully vet reports before deciding to take court action, and suggested that the courts should be empowered to impose penalties when cases are found to be frivolous and abusive.

Magistate Joe Mifsud made his comments has he found government vet Frank Galea not guilty of perjury.

The case was related to evidence given in court in the long-running case against herdsman Ganni Attard, who stands accused of keeping an unregistered herd.

“This court will not be party in stupid and scandalous pique where some people expect to dictate what should be said and done in court,” Magistrate Mifsud said.

He said judges, the police and lawyers had a responsibility to ensure that the courts did not end up being a fora for increased pique and vindictive actions against those who did their duty, while rewarding those who used threats and litigation.

The court, he said, was appealing to the police not to bow to any pressure, including that by the media. Similarly, lawyers should not bow to pressure to file court applications when they knew that their clients were not right.

The time had come, he said, for lawmakers to give the courts the authroity to penalise those who filed blatantly frivolous and abusive applications.

This could also be the time to impose an administrate charge to make a person think twice before instituting a case in an abusive manner.

When he referred to this case, Magistrate Mifsud said no evidence of perjury had been presented.

He said a conflict in the evidence presented to the courts did not necessarily mean perjury since witnesses gave evidence according to their perception, as had happened in this case. God forbid, he said, that every conflict in evidence presented in court translated into prosecution for perjury.