A man has been awarded €4,000 in moral damages for unjustified delay in criminal proceedings in his regard.
The proceedings had dragged on for years and ultimately resulted in an acquittal 12 years after the alleged offence took place.
Adrian Abela filed constitutional proceedings against the Attorney General claiming a breach of his right to a fair hearing ‘within reasonable time’ over a drug possession case which resulted in an acquittal in October 2016, eight years after his arraignment in 2008.
Worse still, the applicant pointed out that his arraignment had taken place four years after the commission of the alleged illegal drug trafficking which dated back to 2004.
Once criminal action kicked off in his regard, the proceedings dragged on, hampered down by the inefficient handling of the case by the prosecution.
In fact, Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, presiding over the First Hall, Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, observed that there had been several factors which had caused the delay, the primary one being attributable to the prosecution.
The court observed that over a span of eight years, the prosecution had only put forward three witnesses, sometimes turning up for the hearings without being well-prepared and also lacking the necessary documents.
“In a court hearing drugs cases there is no luxury for any waste of time,” Mr Justice Zammit McKeon remarked, adding that unless there was a firm will to ensure that a case be handled properly or else make way for other fresh cases to be appointed for hearing.
Noting further that the case had been handled by three different magistrates, Mr Justice Zammit McKeon deplored the too lax attitude of the first magistrate who tolerated the prosecution’s delays far too long.
It was only when the Magistrate could not bear such behaviour any longer that he finally put his foot down and sent a notice to the Police Commissioner.
Had there been a greater degree of discipline in the handling of the criminal case, this claim of a breach of rights by the accused could have been avoided, the constitutional court observed, noting further that the least to blame for the delay was the accused himself.
In fact, although Mr Abela had also missed some hearings, this was sometimes through no fault of his own and besides, when it was his turn to bring forward his evidence, his lawyers did so during one sitting, the court pointed out.
In the light of all such considerations, the court declared that the applicant’s right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time had been breached and consequently awarded Mr Abela €4,000 by way of moral damages.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Amadeus Cachia were counsel to the applicant.