The time was ripe for setting up a team of magistrates who would focus solely on magisterial inquiries, Mr Justice Neville Camilleri said in his inaugural address from the bench on Friday.

Such inquiries had grown in number and complexity, said the judge.

While acknowledging the sterling work done by all court officials and the improvements achieved within the justice system, Judge Camilleri observed that more judges and magistrates were needed, each having ideally a “full complement” of staff and adequate space to work in.

Behind the number of court cases, there are a number of persons awaiting justice

Judge Camilleri stressed that every party to court proceedings was to be treated with respect.

“Behind the number of court cases, there are a number of persons awaiting justice,” he said. 

Just as citizens were expected to show respect towards the judiciary, so also magistrates and judges were to show respect towards the citizen, observed the newly-appointed judge, drawing upon his 10-year experience as a magistrate presiding over criminal cases, mostly those related to drug trafficking. 

He planned “no surprises” as far as his approach to work was concerned, although his focus would now shift to the civil and constitutional field in line with the nature of the caseload assigned to him by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti. 

His advice to lawyers who were yet unfamiliar with his work ethos, was simply to “respect allocated time, be prepared and do whatever needed to be done from one deferment to the next.”

Every member called to the judicial bench was to possess necessary attributes, including diligence, punctuality, handling cases within the shortest possible time and without unnecessary delays even when delivering judgment. 

Being a judge is a burden and commitment

Being a judge was not “a privilege” but the role implied “a burden and commitment,” with the workload spilling over beyond the courtroom and beyond work hours, observed Mr Justice Camilleri, reserving his final words of gratitude to his family who had helped him along his “journey.”

The session started off with a speech by lawyer Louis Degabriele, President of the Chamber of Advocates, who praised the new judge for his serious approach and the respect he had always shown as a magistrate to lawyers and their clients. 

The time had come to update the legal ecosystem, said Degabriele, pointing out that certain outdated systems which had worked well when the caseload was much less, were no longer valid.