The legislative process to shorten lengthy court proceedings will be kickstarted “in the coming months”, a Justice Ministry spokesperson has said after the family of a murder victim said the slow court system was adding to their pain.
In an interview with Times of Malta, Daria Dembska said her family “cannot start mourning” until the man accused of murdering her sister Paulina in January 2022 is judged.
Last year, a government White Paper proposed that the compilation of evidence stage should be concluded within one year from an arraignment. It also sought to eliminate the process called ‘referral’ (rinviju) that often lengthens the compilation as court documents bounce between the court and the attorney general’s office.
This is no longer needed as it is now mandatory for AG representatives to be present in court.
A Justice Ministry spokesperson said the consultation stage for the reform, which has been discussed for years, has been concluded.
“We received numerous suggestions and proposals, which resulted in a very valid and informative consultation. There have been proposals that built on the consultation document, as well as broadened the scope of the reform. Thus, we had to amend and strengthen the draft bill, as well as consult with key stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the reform,” the spokesperson said.
“It is our intention that in the coming months we kickstart the legislative process in parliament,” she added.
Malta had emulated the British legal system in 1814 by 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, but Malta retains it.
It means that before a trial can begin, the compilation of evidence process must take place.
A lazy justice system is not good but one that is too hasty is even worse- Franco Debono
Paulina Dembska, a 29-year-old Polish student was raped and strangled in the heart of Sliema on January 2, 2022. Abner Aquilina was arrested for the murder, charged, and the compilation of evidence process began. Two years later, it is still ongoing.
A parallel has been drawn with the unprovoked murder of Ashling Murphy that happened in Ireland a few days after Dembska’s. When Roberta Metsola became European Parliament president that month, she paid tribute to both murdered women.
But in the case of the 23-year-old Irish woman, the case has been concluded. Murphy, a 23-year-old teacher and musician, was murdered as she jogged along a canal near Tullamore, County Offaly, on January 12. Jozef Puska, 33, was charged with murder later that month. The trial began in October 2023, and three weeks later, he was jailed for life.
Unlike the Irish justice system, a person charged in a Maltese court first has to go through the compilation of evidence in front of the Magistrates’ Court before the trial by jury can start in the presence of a panel of jurors and a judge.
During the compilation, the police bring forward their witnesses as do the defence before the magistrate decides if there is a case against that person to go to trial.
Franco Debono, a lawyer who specialises in criminal law, said that he agreed with reforming the compilation of evidence, noting that he had suggested doing that in a 2011 holistic justice reform private members bill when he was a Nationalist MP. However, he disagreed with removing it completely in any court case.
He explained that the compilation of evidence served, among others, as a discovery stage – to build the picture of events, which is not always clear-cut and draw up the bill of indictment. Removing it entirely could mean that the full picture of events could not emerge, possibly leading to miscarriages of justice, Debono argued.
“Just because another country removed it, it does not mean they have a better system. I have always believed that a lazy justice system is not good, but one that is too hasty is even worse,” he said.