A legal loophole which means courts are forced to foot the bill for expert testimonies when cases are withdrawn must be remedied, a magistrate has said. 

Under existing laws, expenses for court-appointed experts can only be recovered when cases result in a conviction or when proceedings are instituted by the police ex ufficio. 

When cases are withdrawn, the court registrar ends up footing the bill and effectively ends up as the "injured party", the magistrate pointed out. 

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech highlighted the legal loophole in a case in which a man was accused of stealing electricity and bribing public officials. 

Redent Zammit, 45, ended up in court after paying a man €1,000 to install a tampered electricity meter at his pizza outlet. 

The magistrate concluded that prosecutors had failed to prove that what Mr Zammit did amounted to bribery, unlawful exaction and embezzlement. 

Enemalta had also withdrawn their complaint against Mr Zammit after he had paid them the amount owed. 

With the case against the accused having crumbled, the bill for the court-appointed expert who had confirmed that Mr Zammit's meter had been tampered with landed in the court's lap. 

The magistrate declared Mr Zammit not guilty and ordered that the Justice Minister, Attorney General and Court Registrar be sent a copy of the judgement, to ensure the legal loophole was addressed.