Lengthy procedures in the criminal court that often stretch up to 10 years will be limited to conclude within a year, according to a new bill announced on Tuesday.

The process, known as the compilation of evidence, takes place at the very beginning of criminal cases. During the process, prosecutors must bring enough evidence to convince the court to accuse the charged person of a crime.

Currently, pre-trial proceedings in criminal cases are especially long but this law would drastically shorten them.

If approved as law, the bill would also remove a bureaucratic process known as the referrals procedure, under which the case file keeps shifting from the court to the attorney general’s office with six-week intervals.

The law would also allow persons accused of crimes to automatically get shorter prison sentences when they admit to crimes early on in the proceedings. Admitting to crimes that carry a maximum of a life sentence could shorten their incarceration to 40 years.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and retired judge Antonio Mizzi announced the reform during a press conference on Tuesday. It includes a multitude of proposals that attempt to shorten the length of judicial proceedings, a controversial issue that has plagued the justice system for decades.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and retired judge Antonio Mizzi announced the reform during a press conference on Tuesday. PHOTO: Jonathan Borg.

Compilations of evidence often drag on for many years, with figures published by the government showing compilations for drug cases take an average of four and a half years to be concluded and those of other criminal cases stretch to an average of 10 years.

Malta had emulated the British legal system in laying down the need for a compilation of evidence to take place before a criminal trial. Britain has since removed this requirement to speed up the legal process.

Those accused of criminal offences can spend years attending court sittings before their case even reaches the trial stage.

Minister Attard said the reform is aimed at shortening long court processes while respecting the rights of both the victims and the accused.

The reform also proposes that victims of crimes have the right to "actively participate during proceedings".

The new measures, however, will only apply to criminal cases that start after the law is approved.

What else is the reform proposing?

The law would also allow magistrates to preside over criminal cases that carry prison sentences of up to 12 years. Presently, they can preside over cases that carry not more than six years. And in cases when a trial is not required, magistrates would be able to decide to do away with the process of compilation of evidence completely.

"Magistrates deserve to be respected for the responsibility they bear," judge Mizzi said.

"Don't ever think that sending people to prison is an easy job. We're talking about people's freedom here, and we cannot afford to be unsure of the decisions we make."

Prosecutors currently get 40 days to present evidence of crime in court, but the law would give them a one-time extension of another 30 days. 

"Don't ever think that sending people to prison is an easy job. Magistrates deserve a lot of respect," retired judge Antonio Mizzi said. PHOTO: Jonathan Borg.

The law also incentivises guilty people to admit their crimes earlier on in the case. If they admit immediately, they automatically get a sentence shortened by two grades.

If the crime carries a maximum punishment of a life sentence or if they admit to the crime at some other point during the case, they automatically get a sentence shortened by one grade.

The law would also spare magistrates the obligation of signing on each and every sheet of paper of criminal proceedings, the volumes of which, in some cases, can be as thick as the height of a human person, judge Mizzi explained.

The public consultation is open till the end of May. PHOTO: Jonathan Borg.

The law also requires a small amendment to the constitution - a proposal that necessitates two-thirds of MPs' voted to get approval.

A number of the proposals were first put forward 10 years ago by lawyer and then-PN MP Franco Debono when he was pushing for a justice system reform. Among other things, he had insisted that the referrals procedure wastes a lot of time and should be removed.

The public consultation is open till the end of May and feedback can be submitted via email on consultation.justice@gov.mt or online on publicconsultation.gov.mt.

Read the consultation document here.