Doctors in the courtroom

As an orthopaedic surgeon dealing with patients involved in traffic and other accidents and who often end up in the courtroom, I fully understand and appreciate that our input is needed for judges and magistrates to deal with their cases.

In over 15 years of attending court very regularly, my experience, however, is that the problem is never the judge or the magistrate dealing with the case as, in their great majority, they go out of their way to hear the doctor’s testimony as soon as is practicably possible.

The problem lies with the summoning to court of the doctor in the first place and this is invariably done by the prosecuting police officer or the lawyer (defence or prosecuting lawyer from the AG office) who insist on the physi­cal presence of the doctor for no real reason. Unfortunately, they often summon doctors to court to simply read out the report that would have been presented well before the case hearing or, worse still, to confirm that the signature on the document is indeed of the doctor.

The ‘summoners’ are very often unfortunately unaware that there is a fully functioning legal office at Mater Dei Hospital (that recently became increasingly efficient) where mere formalities can be carried out under oath without the doctor having to be physically present in court.

It is regrettable that in a signifi­cant number of cases it becomes clear that the report presented would not even have been read at all prior to the sitting by those who need it. Then, after making the doctor read the report out loud in court, a number of ‘off the cuff’ questions are asked during the sitting, as if to justify the summons in the first place, such as the one of riding a motorbike with a blocked nose.

If all concerned indeed want to work together, there should be one of two pathways that should be followed. The one that should be used in the great majority of cases is of a report written by the doctor sent to the court via the legal office at Mater Dei (after taking an oath) well in advance of the advised court hearing date. The defence/prosecution would then do well to read the report and, if they have any queries, they can list them in writing (well before the hearing) and the doctor can simply answer their queries also in writing and submit this report annex to the court, also via the legal office (after taking oath), well in time of the hearing date. This will eliminate the need of the great majority of summons made.

If, in what should be a minority of cases, the above does not suffice or there are extraordinary circumstances that need an interactive session, then the second pathway is videoconferencing (or as rarely as possible, physical presence).

The request for this by the lawyer or police officer should always be subject to the approval of the judge or magistrate concerned. Of course, for this to be feasible, all halls in court need to be technologically equipped, as,  understandably, no judge or magistrate is happy to transfer his or her entire staff to another area in the building as the logistics are unrealistic, as also is the waste of time.

Interactive videoconferencing is certainly better than physi­cal presence, however, it should still be the exception rather than the rule. A pre-submitted medical report with the added possibility of further written answers to any queries should suffice in the great majority of cases for a well organised defence or prosecuting team.

Jason Zammit – Sliema

Floriana St Anne Street project

I refer to an article about a project for St Anne Street, in Floriana (January 17).

The article says that this project is the brainchild of four young architects from DHI Periti.

While it is true that the project was drawn up by these architects in 2013, the concept of turning St Anne Street into a pedestrian area was first conceived way back in 2008 by myself during my tenure as director general of the services division within the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs.

Unfortunately, this project was shelved in view of more urgent priorities that the ministry had at the time. 

I am informed that the public works department recently put forward to the ministry for transport and infrastructure the project that I had conceived in 2008. Apart from creating a pedestrian zone and retaining the mature palm trees that exist in this street, the project also caters for parking facilities for the residents of the area and commercial entities that operate in this street. 

This project also caters for the possibility of having the street used as a ceremonial access road to Valletta when so required and for the carnival defilé, which is now part of Floriana’s yearly activities.  t also proposes a direct link between the waterfront and cruise liner terminal, St Anne Street and Valletta through the construction of a small tunnel and the rehabili­tation of the ex-train tunnel passing nearby.

Some of the architects mentioned in the article had been employed by the ministry as student architects and may have already known of this concept when they drew up their proposals in 2013.

Carmel Mifsud Borg – Adviser, Director, General Secretariat, Public Works Department, Floriana

A Union of Equality

Ten years ago, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (UNCRPD) came into force at the European Union level. It has led to major changes in how the rights of people with disability are dealt with at European, international and national levels.

The Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability (MFOPD) supports the European Disability Forum’s (EDF) statement that “it is time to make sure laws are adopted, laws are enforced, people are empowered and funding is invested”.

Helena Dalli, the European Commissioner for Equality, said: “Our ambitions will require everyone’s commitment. The (EU disability) strategy will be the point of reference for the EU, all governments, social partners, civil society and the private sector. It will make it easier to work together on our commitments, including in dialogue and partnership with persons with disabilities. It will ensure that persons with disabilities can participate equally in all areas of life.

“Our commitment and action in this area of policy will be another important step towards a ‘Union of Equality’. I will work closely with all EU member states to make the EU a model of inclusion, accessibility and human rights. Nothing about persons with disabilities should happen without their involvement. They will be part of the dialogue and part of the process.”

The MFOPD is the national umbrella organisation for the disability sector. It is the voice of about 37,000 people with disability in the Maltese islands.

It has 33 enrolled member organisations all working within the disability sector.

Marthese Mugliette – President, Malta Federation of Organisations Persons with Disability, Santa Venera

Flyover not needed

A flyover crossing the Mrieħel Bypass has been proposed to do away with the current dangerous right-hand turn across a fast dual-carriageway.

Objectors claim too much farmland would have to be sacrificed.

We don’t need such a flyover. Close the opening in the central reservation, abolishing the right-hand turn into Mrieħel industrial estate, and traffic can find another route to the industrial estate.

Does it have to take 20 years to come to the easiest of solutions to this dangerous road design?

Albert Cilia-Vincenti – Attard

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