A protest over attacks on the judiciary will be held outside the law courts on Tuesday evening, the Law Students' Association said on Monday.

The protest will be held by several student organisations and follows a statement on Monday where 21 University student NGOs condemned remarks made by Prime Minister Robert Abela in the wake of the publication of the Vitals magisterial inquiry report.

The protest, which will take place at 8pm, will express support for the rule of law and solidarity with the judiciary which, the society said, had been a victim of attack and vilification.  

In their statement on Monday, the University student NGOs said the rule of law requires that the judiciary is allowed to function without undue pressure. "Comments made by the highest government officials which devalue the work and tarnish the reputation and integrity of the judiciary have no place in a parliamentary democracy founded on the rule of law," they said. 

The students were supported by the Faculty of Social Wellbeing, which criticised "insinuations of bad faith on the part of the judiciary" over the timing of the inquiry's findings. 

"This rhetoric is dangerously provocative, undermining public confidence in the judiciary and depriving it of the serenity with which it must be allowed to conduct its work," the statement said.