The Chamber of Advocates has called for the judiciary to treat lawyers with respect, after Magistrate Joe Mifsud gave a prosecutor a public dressing down.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Chamber said that the magistrate had sought to humiliate prosecutor Angele Vella during the July 4 hearing.  

During that hearing, Magistrate Mifsud ordered prosecutor Angele Vella to stand in the dock alongside the defendant and threatened to find her in contempt of court, after she sought to argue her point following criticism from the magistrate.

The magistrate believed the prosecutor had been late to request a witness to testify.

“You will not speak like this in my courtroom, otherwise get out!” MaltaToday reported the magistrate as telling the prosecutor. He reportedly then ordered Vella to stand in the dock  and said he would teach prosecutors a lesson and “find [her] in contempt once and for all.”

The Chamber of Advocates said the magistrate’s behaviour was unbecoming and only served to undermine public trust in the judiciary and its work.

“The Chamber demands that the court respects all lawyers that appear before it and refrain from making disparaging comments about individual prosecutors or the Office of the Attorney General,” it said as it offered Vella its solidarity.