A man sentenced to jail because he was told to appear in court for his appeal hearing on the wrong day is to get a second chance at liberty.

Reno Azzopardi was found guilty of misappropriation and sentenced to three years in jail in October 2020. He appealed that sentence.

Azzopardi’s appeal was due to be heard on April 23, 2024. But on the day, he did not appear in court, prompting the judge presiding over proceedings to declare the appeal abandoned and the original sentence valid.

But it appears Azzopardi was given the wrong information. The formal notice of summons he was served stated that the hearing was scheduled for April 24, despite the sitting being held one day prior.

Azzopardi subsequently filed a court application seeking to have the court of appeal reappointed, but the court turned down that request.

That was when Azzopardi took his grievances before the First Hall, Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction, arguing that his fundamental right to a fair trial had been breached.

The matter landed before Mr Justice Toni Abela, who found that Azzopardi had somewhat tested the court’s patience over the years. The April 23 hearing which prompted the judge to declare the appeal abandoned was the last in a string of failed hearings in the case, he noted.

Azzopardi’s appeal had been put off several times since November 2023, when it began, either due to Azzopardi being ill or not having a lawyer to represent him.

When delivering judgment Mr Justice Abela acknowledged that the court of appeal had every reason to feel “exasperated” by the appellant’s “unorthodox” manner of informing the court about his absence right on the day of hearing.

However, the notification Azzopardi received was “radically wrong”, given it cited the wrong date. That was not just a cosmetic issue, he noted.

“Without formal knowledge of proceedings against you, you can never defend yourself,” went on the court, noting further that “justice can never be served when this is done behind someone’s back.”

The judge said that although the appeals judge may have been exasperated by Azzopardi’s previous behaviour, any lesson directed towards him should have been reserved for a later stage, after re-appointing the appeal rather than declaring its abandonment.=

Judge Abela therefore quashed the decision of the criminal appeals court. Azzopardi has been ordered out of jail until his appeal is reheard. He was also given €2,500 in non-pecuniary damages for the breach of rights. 

Lawyer George Anton Buttigieg assisted the applicant.