A Magistrates’ Court this morning deplored what it termed ‘a total disregard for the law’ after a man and a woman due to be brought to court under arrest, instead made their own way to the sitting, prompted by a mere phone-call by the police.

Antonella Vella and Stephen Borg were due to be escorted to court under a warrant of arrest after they had failed to turn up for a previous hearing.

Although this time the two kept their appointment, it transpired in court that they had arrived unaccompanied after the police had called them yesterday to inform them about today's hearing.

"This is a blatant violation of a court order - an arrest warrant means an arrest warrant,” declared Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech, insisting that when the court issued an arrest warrant the police had 48 hours to detain suspects before escorting them to court.

The current practice of asking such persons to go to the local police station and arresting them there did not conform to proper procedure and amounted to a lack of respect towards the courts, the magistrate continued. "You must go and arrest them at home,” said the court, addressing the prosecuting officers present in the courtroom.

The court issued a decree calling on the Commissioner of Police to file a note by week's end, indicating the measures taken to definitively address this issue. A copy of the order is to be served upon the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Home Affairs.

A police officer explained how yesterday evening upon going to execute the arrest warrant at Mr Borg’s house, he had been met by the accused's mother who had called her son to inform him of his court hearing today.

However, this explanation was deemed unacceptable by the magistrate who insisted that the warrant ought to have been executed earlier within the 48 hours granted for this purpose by the law.