Around 40 lawyers who graduated last year are still awaiting their warrant to be able to practise law, in what seems to be a repeat of a saga that affected some 120 lawyers earlier this year.
The lawyers told Times of Malta that despite passing the warrant exam, they have still not been called in for the fit-and-proper test, a new requirement before being handed their warrants.
“I hope we won’t have a drawn-out repeat of what happened to the lawyers who graduated before us, who had to wait for months on end before finally receiving their warrants. This situation is unacceptable in this day and age,” one angry lawyer said.
He was referring to a saga that affected around 120 freshly graduated lawyers when they had to wait for more than a year before they were finally given their warrant in October.
They were caught in an impasse over the implementation of a new fit-and-proper test that all new lawyers are expected to sit to be deemed of good conduct and high moral standing as laid down in the law.
Justice Minister Jonathan Attard had promised during the warrant award ceremony [of lawyers who had graduated in 2021] that there would be no repeat of the impasse- Justice Ministry spokesperson
The sub-committee of the Commission for the Administration of Justice, headed by former chief justice Silvio Camilleri, originally asked aspiring lawyers to divulge any serious physical or mental health problems over a 10-year period. It also asked if they currently have or had a drug, alcohol or gambling addiction in the last decade.
However, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard considered that line of questions too invasive and blocked it. Attard argued that the information being asked of candidates was “excessive and does not respect the dignity of the individuals and their privacy”. The test would discourage people from entering the legal profession.
To find a compromise solution, the commission revised the guidelines and drew up a fresh questionnaire which Attard promptly green-lighted. The lawyers were put to the test, finally receiving their warrant on October 17 – more than 13 months after their graduation.
Lawyers who had graduated in 2021 faced a similar situation. Ultimately, they were granted their warrant without sitting for the fit-and-proper test.
Asked about this new group awaiting their warrant despite graduating in October last year, a spokesperson for the Justice Ministry said the Committee of Lawyers and Legal Procurators was informed about those who had passed their warrant examinations.
“Now it is up to the same committee to trigger the process related to the fit-and-proper test, which this committee is expected to carry out,” he said.
He also referred to what Minister Attard had promised during the warrant award ceremony: that there would be no repeat of the impasse.
“The government is working on legislative amendments that aim to establish practical timeframes, provide for an impasse situation on the guidelines and the questionnaire between the committee and the ministry, and also introduce the right of appeal from the committee’s decision before the Commission for Administration of Justice,” the spokesperson said.