There could be serious repercussions from a landmark judgment by the European Court of Human Rights which found that a Constitutional Court ruling on legal assistance during interrogation was in breach of fundamental rights.

In a unanimous decision, the ECHR said the Constitutional Court’s interpretation of the law had violated the right to a fair hearing. Access to legal assistance during police questioning should be granted by default and not hinge on certain factors like the vulnerability and the character of the person involved, as the Maltese Constitutional Court had ruled.

Lawyers yesterday spoke of the possibility, in a worst-case scenario, of cases collapsing as a result of the ECHR judgment, especially where the statement given by the accused had a significant bearing on the final outcome of the case.

The ECHR ruling, given on Monday, revolves around a sentence handed to Mario Borg in 2008 by a Maltese court.

Following a trial by jury Mr Borg was sentenced to 21 years in prison and fined €70,000 for drug trafficking. In 2011, the sentence was confirmed by the Criminal Court of Appeal. Mr Borg then filed an application in the Civil Court claiming a breach of human rights on grounds that he was not given access to a lawyer during the investigation.

The Civil Court turned down his request as did the Constitutional Court, in January 2013, following an appeal.

As a last resort Mr Borg took the case to the court in Strasbourg. He yesterday filed a judicial protest against the Attorney General, warning that he was reserving the right to institute legal proceedings against the government.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri, David Camilleri and Joe Gatt signed the judicial protest.