A staggering 184 magisterial inquiries have been pending for 20 years or longer – three of them for just over 30 years, according to Justice Minister Owen Bonnici.

Replying to a parliamentary question by MP Mario Galea, he said that as at February 12, 2018, there were 1,769 pending in Malta, and a further 394 in Gozo, the oldest dating back to 1987.

The minister also revealed that the pending caseload had, however, been reduced by 284 between 2010 and 2017. A third table indicated that there had been 7,513 new inquiries opened in that period, but 7,797 were closed.

“This shows that the majority of inquiries are concluded and the ones that drag on are the ones where experts have not concluded their findings, some evidence has not been found, or where witnesses are still being tracked down,” he said.