Smoking ban in the magistrates' court

A constitutional application by a lawyer last month complaining about smoking at the law courts has resurrected a 1913 legal notice banning smoking from the magistrates' court.

The action has led to notices appearing over the past few days in the corridors of the magistrates' court, saying that smoking was prohibited there.

Some two weeks ago Tonio Azzopardi filed a constitutional application in the First Hall of the Civil Court claiming his fundamental human rights had been violated by the failure of the authorities to take effective action to curb smoking in the law courts building.

The application was filed against the director general of the courts and the courts registrar.

Late last week, several laser printed notices were stuck by tape to notice boards and other prominent places in the corridors of the law courts.

Initially, they went unnoticed and the corridors still had people, ranging from policemen to witnesses and accused persons, smoking. But several police inspectors who are known smokers said they were no longer taking cigarettes with them to court because if it was not allowed to smoke, they wanted to abide by the prohibition.

On the other hand, lawyers and several policemen who smoked were trying to find loopholes and argued that the prohibition applied only to the actual halls where the magistrates heard cases.

Contacted yesterday, the director general of the law courts, Charles Micallef said that "considering the circumstances I was advised to enforce the 1913 law. We were closing one or both eyes before but now that our attention has been drawn to the existence of the legal notice, we cannot ignore it".

Mr Micallef said all the area forming part of the magistrates' court was a no smoking zone as the law clearly laid down that smoking was prohibited in the building housing the magistrates' court.

Because of the way the regulation is worded, smoking is still allowed in the Superior Courts.

Asked if the law was going to be enforced, Mr Micallef said court staff were telling smokers to refrain.

"The number of people who smoke has already come down. This will take some time to sink in. If I see anyone smoking, I will personally stop him. We may also ask the police to enforce the law. Once the law is there, it should be enforced," he said.

In his court application, Dr Azzopardi argued that he worked for long hours in the courts on a daily basis and was exposed daily to cigarette smoke in the court corridors and even in the courtrooms.

This was caused by smoking on the part of the public, the police and some of the court employees. Therefore, in order for him to earn his living, he had to inhale smoke emitted by other persons and as a result he was seriously endangering his health and life.

Dr Azzopardi said the health promotion department had written to the authorities expressing concern about the matter in April, 2001 and it had also submitted a report in July of that year to the justice ministry. A survey showed that almost 90 per cent of those interviewed were in favour of a smoking ban at the law courts.

The lawyer argued that despite the fact that over a year had elapsed no simple measures had been implemented to prohibit smoking in the law courts building.

Dr Azzopardi said the failure of the state to provide a healthy working environment constituted inhuman and degrading treatment in violation of his fundamental human rights. He asked the court to grant him a remedy and to take all suitable steps to protect his human rights.

The constitutional case is scheduled to start being heard on June 18.