Justice Minister Owen Bonnici and Home Affairs Minister Michael Farrugia may not have realised it but the Chief Justice has summoned them to appear before the judiciary and answer to charges of dereliction of duty.

The courts, Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, ‘ruled’ in his address at the opening of the forensic year on Monday, cannot defend the rule of law and justice cannot take its course if the Attorney General and the police fail in their duties.

The thrust of his whole address was that the Attorney General and the police are not enforcing the law, as they are in duty bound to do.

“The… courts… are the final bulwark in defence of the rule of law but if those authorities who hold the initiative remain inert, the courts will never be in a position to discharge their duties and are deprived of their authority and rendered incapable of enforcing the law. The edifice of the administration of justice breaks down and all that remains are the ruins. The procedure laid down by law for the implementation of the rule of law is a good and functioning one but presumes that the authorities on whom relies the entire procedure all carry out their duties without fear or favour,” Dr Camilleri, who retires in April, said.

For law-abiding citizens who live in this country – that is, the big bulk of the people – who know what has been and is still happening, the Chief Justice did not have to elaborate. A nod is as good as a wink.

Being a chief justice does not allow one much room to speak one’s mind, also because one has to protect the institution. And, let’s face it, Dr Camilleri did not exactly have an easy ride, as the ‘surprise’ nomination of certain individuals to the Bench, to mention one example, proves.

Yet, to his credit, Dr Camilleri was quite candid in his speech as if he wanted to say: enough is enough.

Indeed, you cannot fool around with the administration of justice. We have already seen governance being corrupted and institutions weakened, if not rendered impotent.

The Chief Justice gave some mundane examples of what he was talking about, like tables and chairs obstructing pavements, cars illegally parked and hindering the free circulation of traffic, illegal buildings and deckchairs unlawfully taking up all available space by the sea. Presumably, he argued he did not need to highlight the more serious ones, like allegations of a Cabinet minister and the Prime Minister’s top aide breaching the law.

“The rule of law demands that there should be punishment for whoever contravenes the law. If there is punishment for some but not for others, the courts remain no longer administrators of justice but are transformed into administrators of injustice since they end up penalising some but not others. Instead of rule of law we will have the rule of delinquents,” he warned.

Dr Camilleri used the image of Lady Justice to drive his point home. Were her blindfold to be removed, rather than a figure of reassurance it would become one that “inspires fear and disquiet, lack of hope and confidence and instead of a figure of justice it is transformed into a caricature of justice”.

How do Dr Bonnici and Dr Farrugia plead?

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