Updated 4.35pm. Adds Justice Ministry's reaction
The Chamber of Advocates has ordered lawyers to stay away from court sittings, claiming that some judges and magistrates are breaching a COVID-19 directive issued by the Chief Justice last week by continuing to appoint sittings.
It also expressed its dismay that the law courts were not deemed to be a health risk despite the presence of hundreds of people attending court sittings on a daily basis and with very limited space for social distancing.
Last week, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti instructed all magistrates and judges to defer any non-urgent court cases until after April 11, amid soaring COVID-19 cases.
In his directive, he said the court must help stop the spread of the virus and protect not only court workers but also those who attend court. The Chamber of Advocates welcomed the instruction at the time and urged its members to cooperate with it and request deferrals of any non-urgent sittings.
However, on Thursday the chamber said that despite the directive, there were members of the judiciary who continued to appoint sittings normally, and in proceedings that are not deemed urgent.
It said it expected that the judiciary to understand the position of lawyers and clients and to make use of technology which is now available in court, albeit in limited circumstances, to hold virtual sittings.
“The chamber understands that it is in the discretion of every member of the judiciary to evaluate the urgency or otherwise of proceedings. However, in the present circumstances, there must be objectively urgent reasons for a sitting to be held, and if such reasons do exist, sittings should be held virtually. Thus, no one is placed in a useless situation which is detrimental to one’s health, in a moment in time when such risk is very high,” the chamber said in a statement announcing the directive.
It said it could not remain silent when the courts have remained open despite a raft of recently imposed restrictions and pointed out that the law courts had closed down last year, when the situation was less serious.
“It seems that the health authorities do not consider the law courts to be a risk for public health, although it is a known fact that [it is] a public place where hundreds of sittings are held every day,” it said.
The chamber's directive comes into effect on Sunday. If any sittings are to be held, these are to be held virtually, it said. The directive does not apply to those cases deemed as “inevitable and urgent”.
It said the directive did not apply for the court registry and urged lawyers to still respect any legal timeframes for the presentation of acts.
It also insisted that lawyers should not take advantage of the situation if other lawyers opt to abide by the directive, warning of action before the Committee for Lawyers and Legal Procurators in default.
Ministry calls for 'maturity, cooperation and responsibility from lawyers
Reacting to the chamber's directives, the Justice Ministry said it supported the order issued by the Chief Justice last week and called on lawyers to show "maturity, cooperation and responsibility".
It said the court administration had taken all the necessary precautions to ensure that the court building has all the measures in place in line with the regulations and guidelines issued by the Superintendent for Public Health. These measures allow legal practitioners and the public to make use of the registry services and to file judicial acts.
"The Minister fully supports the directive issued by the Chief Justice and is appreciative of the Court Administration’s endeavours to ensure that the relative health measures in the Court building are in place. This in order to ensure the continued provision of the essential services provided by our courts of law and to guarantee access to justice. The Ministry appeals for maturity, cooperation and responsibility by all," it said in reply to questions on the matter.