Parliament has not released plenary transcripts in almost three years
Last plenary transcripts date to November 2023
Parliament’s edited verbatim transcriptions have not been updated since November 2023.
An edited transcript is uploaded to the official parliamentary website after every parliamentary sitting.
Transcripts are the backbone of each parliamentary session since they present a rundown of what is being said in parliament and who is saying it.
Verbatim transcriptions consist of minutes, parliamentary questions and drafted laws. The transcriptions give a chronological rundown of how a bill is introduced, debated, and amended before developing into a law.
Asked about the pause, a parliament spokesperson said: “Transcripts are uploaded to the website from time to time after being checked. It’s a very time-consuming process that requires expertise”.
This process will be resumed “in the coming weeks”, the spokesperson said, without specifying an exact date.
It’s a very time-consuming process that requires expertise
It is not known whether the delay is pending a government initiative to develop a centralised Maltese speech-to-text engine which would automatically transcribe court sittings and parliamentary sessions.
The government issued a tender earlier last month calling for the development of an AI-powered transcription system, which must be capable of handling Maltese, English, and Maltese-English code-switching, commonly used in everyday local speech.
The system will differentiate between different speakers, including when they share a single microphone.
The new parliament, the 15th since Malta’s independence, will convene on Saturday.