A man who was cleared of attempted murder but convicted of seriously injuring another man in a Gozo courtroom stabbing was this morning jailed for seven years.

Pasqualino Cefai, 38 of Zebbug, Gozo, was last Friday found guilty of stabbing Joseph Portelli and seriously injuring him, but not guilty of attempted murder.

Mr Portelli had been stabbed at least 14 times in a Gozo courtroom during a sitting two years ago.

The two were in court as Mr Cefai sought to prevent Mr Portelli from executing a warrant of seizure of two trucks which had been demanded as payment for an outstanding debt of €10,000.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Michael Mallia said Mr Cefai deserved no clemency as he started having trouble with the law since he was 16 years old and was charged in court systematically every two years.

Mr Cefai "terrorised Gozo" and the court was always lenient with him, he said, adding that as a result, he continued his "life of aggression and bullying", using violence to get to his aims.

"Depression was not a good enough excuse for this behaviour. It was a cowardly act and typical of his character. Despite being given a solution, he chose to ignore it and opted for aggression. He deserves the maximum and does not deserve any leniency as he did not show leniency with his victims," he said.

He jailed him five years for the stabbing incident and six months for breaching bail conditions while awaiting judgment.

He also brought into effect an 18-month suspended jail term handed down in April 2012 that he had breached by committing the stabbing incident. Therefore, Mr Cefai was jailed for a total of seven years. He was also ordered to pay €6,000 in court expenses.

In his judgment, Mr Justice Mallia commented on the recent introduction of the right of disclosure, giving people accused of a crime access to all the information the police had against them, as well as the right for the accused to be assisted by a lawyer.

He said these rights ought to be balanced out by allowing jurors to know about someone's criminal record.

"This is innovative and there will be opposition but this is not new as it has already been introduced by the justice system in the UK, despite its conservativeness, as it helps the jurors in their judgment. This requires studies, especially on how it will affect the justice system," he said.