A group of 11 newly graduated lawyers have gone to court complaining they have not yet been granted their warrant to practise because of an impasse surrounding a controversial new test.

They filed a judicial protest against the university, the justice minister and the Commission for the Administration of Justice, accusing them of delay in issuing their warrants.

The protest was filed by Sarah Vassallo Ciliberti, Rosanna Ciliberti, Raphael Sammut De Marco, Conrad Borg Manché, Jurgen Vella, Pearl Agius, Yasmin Joy Attard, Sean Cutajar, Maria Miriam Bezzina, Daniel Vancell and Marcus Stefan Ciantar.

However, the delay affects about 120 new lawyers.

The complainants explained that despite successfully completing the Masters in Advocacy course last September, their graduation was not held in November as usual but postponed to March.

In the meantime, they had sat for their warrant exam and despite being informed by the Office of the Chief Justice that they had passed, their warrant was nowhere to be seen.

The lawyers have been caught in an impasse over the implementation of a new fit-and-proper test which all new lawyers are now expected to sit to be deemed of good conduct and high moral standing as laid down in the law.

Part of the test asks aspiring warranted lawyers to divulge any serious physical or mental health problems over a 10-year period as well as asking questions such as whether they have a drug, alcohol or gambling addiction, or whether they had one in the previous 10 years.

The test was put in place by a sub-committee of the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

However, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard considers it too invasive and last month wrote to President George Vella, who presides over the commission, threatening legislative changes if the test remains in its present form.

Attard argues that the information being asked of candidates is “excessive and does not respect the dignity of the individuals and their privacy”. The test would discourage people from entering the legal profession, he says.

In his letter, Attard said he would consider legislative intervention so that warrants would be granted to those who had already been examined and approved as competent to practise as lawyers and legal procurators.

Sources said that the lawyers who graduated last year were given their warrant without this test.

Lawyer Marco CIliberti signed the protest.