Three court services launched

Three court services meant to expedite civil proceedings were launched by Justice Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici this afternoon in the hope that they would reduce time wasted when cases are deferred.

An SMS will be sent to lawyers in a case which gets deferred, lawyers will be sent an with the transcripts of testimony and court decrees will be e-mailed as soon as they were ready.

However, criminal proceedings will not make use of the SMS service because of the nature and sensitivity of proceedings and because the law required more formality.

Dr Bonnici, said that the Government would like the court registry to move towards a system similar to that of the MFSA where everything was online.

Speaking about queues at the front door which left the public waiting to get inside well past 9am when cases start, Dr Bonnici said a second X-ray machine was to be installed.