Justice Minister Jonathan Attard insisted on Monday that the problem of court delays could not be attributed to just lack of resources but stems from other issues too, among them a lack of discipline exercised in the courtrooms by members of the judiciary.
Speaking in Parliament, Attard threw the ball back in the court of judges and magistrates following a recent ruling by the constitutional court which slammed the government for lack of investment in the judicial system.
Attard’s speech was a direct reply to the judgment handed down last week by Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale who severely criticised the government for failing to provide the resources necessary for the judiciary to function effectively and deliver justice within a reasonable time.
He was delivering judgment over what he described as the “shameful” delay in a case, saying this was not to be attributed solely to the Maltese courts system but was also because the government continued to be “very reluctant and conservative” with its investment in the judiciary.
Although, over the last few decades, the courts’ caseload has increased significantly in number and complexity, that increase was never reflected in an adequate investment in the courts.
The judge said that while citizens were entitled to expect service within a reasonable time, the courts were equally entitled to expect the government to provide the tools and resources necessary to render such a service.
Failure by the executive to provide adequate resources meant that the judiciary could not operate in an effective and efficient manner and live up to the citizens’ legitimate expectations.
Minister: Do not single out just one issue
Attard said that while the judge’s comments were harsh, he would not stoop so low to define them as “abhorrent” as the Nationalist Party had defined Prime Minister Robert Abela’s statement urging a magistrate to conclude her magisterial inquiry without delay.
“Appealing for efficiency is not an attack on independence (of the judiciary). The system of checks and balances between the pillars of democracy are not one-way,” Attard said as he responded to the judge’s remarks.
He listed the government’s most recent investment in the judicial system, including how the expenditure on court experts had unlimited budgets in recent years, with €8.5 million being spent per year in the last two years on experts to assist in inquiries.
The government was committed to continue investing to improve efficiency in the law courts, but the problem of court delays was not only attributable to lack of resources, he said.
“We must not point fingers at one source of the problem, and we must not isolate any sector in our criticism… There are cases where the lack of resources leads to delays as there are circumstances where the parties abuse. There are also members of the judiciary who do not tolerate such abuses and have full control of their courtroom but others who are lax in discipline. We cannot attribute the cause to a single source,” Attard said.
He said that as he had already spoken about circumstances of people who sought justice in courts but ended up being victims of injustice.
He said he found it “unacceptable”, for instance, that the Rent Regulations Board has not yet prepared a formal copy of its decision handed down 20 months ago.
“I do not think that this is a matter of lack of staff or resources,” he said.
“Efficiency in court is not an impossible milestone. We will remain committed to making unprecedented investments to ensure that effective justice takes place and in a reasonable time, in every case,” he added.