It is reliably understood that all lawyers who normally practise at the Gozo courts are up in arms over what they have described as the "shambolic and catastrophic" situation.
The lawyers feel that the building currently housing the Law Courts is no longer suitable.
The shortcomings are various. The courts are not accessible to the disabled. Parking facilities are practically non-existent, so people are forced to park hundreds of metres away.
Visitors have to negotiate a flight of 15 steps to enter the building. Further flights of steps lead to the main hall, even more to the cashier, court archives, and the Judicial Assistant. There are no ramps to enable access to wheelchair-bound people, let alone lifts.
In the waiting areas, there are only six benches - on a minimum of two days a week, there are well over a hundred people waiting, the majority of whom have to spend hours standing. The landing at the top of the flight of stairs is normally so crowded that it is practically impossible for lawyers to cross from one chamber to the other.
The auxiliary hall has been closed for several months due to justified fears about its structural soundness, and no date has yet been fixed for its reopening. No restoration works have been carried out since it was closed.
Because of the lack of space, lawyers have been deprived of what used to be (rather grandly) known as the Chamber of Advocates as this has been taken over by the cash department. In turn, these had to be moved from their original offices because they were structurally dangerous.
Rumour has it that there are plans for a lawyers' chamber in the room previously used by the accounts department - but that means that the accounts department has been moved to the archives, which cannot be described as decent offices.
And the situation is made worse when more than one hall gets busy, which happens frequently. Nowadays cases are heard before a judge presiding over the appeals section; one or more magistrates presiding over the Court in its civil and criminal jurisdiction, or its family section; the judicial assistant busy compiling evidence in civil cases; the chairman of the Small Claims Tribunal hearing cases before him; the mediatrix hearing personal separations; and technical referees carrying out their duties.
It is impossible for these hearings to be held in the existing building because there are too many people.
Lawyers claim that a few years ago the Health and Safety Unit had carried out a survey on the Law Courts and concluded that the premises do not meet health and safety standards. The situation must be much worse now.
The accessibility situation outside the Law Courts building is not much better. The Cathedral Square and the immediate surroundings cannot cater for the vehicles of all those who have to attend to court business. The situation has worsened as the square has been closed (and rightly so) to traffic.
As a result, the hill and the square are choked with traffic and parked vehicles. The only alternative is to park in the Victoria parking area off Main Gate Street - which means almost half an hour's walk up a steep hill.
The lawyers see that the only permanent solution is to move the Courts out of the current building and into the former MMU factory in Mgarr Road, which has been lying idle for several years, could be a viable alternative.
The structure itself has no particular features that make it worthy of preservation and it is fast turning into an eyesore and a health hazard: the structure can easily be removed and modern, custom-built law courts constructed in its stead.
The surrounding yard can, and should, be made available for parking. And since the project can be started from scratch, parking can be organised in an orderly manner so that a sufficient area is reserved for judges, magistrates and lawyers' vehicles, and the rest reserved for the public.