Judges and magistrates will not be able to fulfil their role in upholding the rule of law if they continue to be hampered by lack of resources and supporting staff.

The dire warning is sounded by the Association of Judges and Magistrates Francesco Depasquale

The situation surrounding court personnel is precarious, he writes in response to a series of questions sent to him by Times of Malta about the lack of resources in court.

If no urgent and immediate action is taken, he warns, the situation is bound to deteriorate further, leading to the eventual collapse of the essential institution responsible for maintaining the rule of law.

“The Courts of Justice are an essential part of the enforcement of the rule of law, and so long as it continues being denied the resources to work, the judiciary will not be able to fulfil its role in assuring that the rule of law in Malta is truly upheld,” Depasquale writes.

Although the judiciary is independent of the country’s administration, he said it is the government that must allocate resources for the judiciary to be able to function and deliver justice within a reasonable time.

“The government has to stop dealing with the court’s requirements on a piecemeal, management-by crisis basis, and needs to come up with a serious long-term plan to tackle the difficulties being faced by the judiciary and the operation of the Courts of Law,” Depasquale added.

“Without an effective and efficient judicial system, no free and democratic society can thrive, both economically and socially, and unless the government, being ultimately responsible for the running of the courts, takes immediate and serious action, there may never be a truly effective and efficient court, particularly in view of the ever increasing load of cases which the courts are being faced with,” he said.