Citizens should be reassured that it made no difference whether their court case was presided by a man or a woman, Madam Justice Anna Felice said yesterday in her first speech delivered from the judge's bench.

"Justice was and will continue to be carried out irrespective of the fact that we now have women judges," she said during a ceremony to mark her first sitting as a judge.

Madam Justice Felice said that following her appointment, and that of her colleague Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro, there had been an emphasis on the fact that there were now women judges.

Now that the novelty of the news had worn out, she wanted to ensure citizens that the gender of the judge would have no bearing on the outcome of their cases.

She said she was honoured to accept the burden that came with her appointment, a burden that would also be felt by her family which she took into account before accepting the position.

She was prepared to work hard and expected the cooperation of all parties because unnecessary delays were a form of injustice.

Having said that, she felt that, taking into account the heavy work load of each judge, the imposing of obligatory time frames - other than the essential ones - did not guarantee that the cases would be dealt with faster.

There was a need to explore the possibility of better case management even through rules of court that regulate the pre-trial period - which ought to be controlled in the best possible manner, she said.

The judge added that if the judiciary, lawyers and the law court's administration made an effort to appreciate each other's work and understand the conditions under which they were working, better efficiency would prevail.

The former chairman of the Mediation Board, Madam Justice Felice encouraged the authorities to develop the mediation system by, for example, training mediators in the commercial and civil spheres.

She also called on the legal profession to explore mediation, which was an alternative to solving cases.

She ended her first speech by thanking her father for the love of books and studies that he passed on to her, her mother for her "silent wisdom", her sister for being a good example and best friend, her children for keeping her feet firmly rooted on the ground and her husband for always being there for her. She also thanked former lecturers, colleagues and friends.