Letters to the editor – June 27, 2025

Courtroom security

Mark Said of Msida writes:

I refer to the courtroom incident wherein, following a violent brawl between the two contending parties, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale, highlighted the need to improve security in courtrooms.

Lawyers and court personnel have long felt the need for improved security in courtrooms as long as I can remember during my extensive legal practice.

In every US courtroom, for example, it has always been the practice to have the presence of a police officer, often referred to as a bailiff during sessions, primarily to ensure safety and maintain order. The bailiff’s responsibilities include securing the judge, the jury and everyone present, preventing disruptions and ensuring the courtroom is a safe space for legal proceedings.

In our courtrooms, there is usually just a single officer responsible, ensuring that everyone in the courtroom follows the rules and procedures established by the court.

They are trained to be responsible for maintaining decorum and to respond to potential threats, whether it is a violent outburst from a defendant or civil suit party, a disruption by a spectator or any other situation that could compromise the safety of those in the courtroom.

In Italy, courtrooms have the presence of judicial police, known as polizia giudiziaria, round the clock and are responsible for maintaining order and security in courtrooms. They also enjoy the power of arrest and search. 

Ironically, in Malta, we have court bailiffs but these are only utilised to perform specific enforcement actions in debt recovery cases after they have entered the judicial phase.

In our courtrooms, there is usually just a single officer responsible for calling out scheduled cases and ensuring that everyone in the courtroom follows the rules and procedures established by the court. They have no other powers whatsoever, and, in the event of a violent incident as the one referred to above, they have to rely exclusively on the arrival and intervention of some police officer happening to be within the precincts of the court building.

My whole point, therefore, is to appeal to the justice minister and the court services agency to beef up security in every courtroom by providing specially trained court personnel to deal with sudden, violent incidents breaking out by stopping them in the nick of time and, if need be, by legislating to grant lawful powers of search and arrest to such personnel.