Less than 1c of every euro from the judicial system’s budget is spent on legal aid in Malta, the Council of Europe has found.
The Council of Europe’s European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice reported that in 2016 just 0.6 per cent of the annual judicial system budget was allocated to legal aid, the second lowest in Europe. Only Hungary spent less than Malta (0.4 per cent), the UK and Ireland being the two countries that spent the most to provide legal assistance to people who could not afford to pay a lawyer.
Malta allocates €175 per case to provide legal aid, according to the data. The budget for 2016 amounted to €100,000, up from €70,000 two years earlier.
The European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice defines legal aid as the assistance provided by the State to people who do not have sufficient financial means to defend themselves before a court or to initiate court proceedings.
A total of 588 criminal cases in the Maltese court involved legal aid in the year under review. Another 338 cases were not of a criminal nature were also granted legal aid.
It was established that Malta, Hungary, Portugal and Sweden actually spent more in legal aid than the budgeted amount. “This can be explained by the fact that the number of incoming cases benefiting from legal aid was higher than expected,” the commission said.
Noting that comparing eligibility for such aid could be difficult because different countries tended to have various procedures in place, it pointed out that, generally, legal aid was granted according to the individual’s financial means. In Malta, those with an annual income of €736 or less were eligible for full legal aid, the commission found.
It also analysed the training given to the judiciary, noting that, of all member states, only Malta, Ireland and Spain did not offer mandatory continuous training to judges.
“In some states and entities, the fact of following continuous training courses which are optional constitutes a plus in the CV of the judge who wishes to take up other functions. This in-service training is either occasional – in seven states and entities such as Malta where judges organise among themselves occasional activities through the Judicial Studies Committee – or regular throughout the career,” the European Council’s commission noted.