A conviction against alleged drug kingpin Jordan Azzopardi for having seriously injured a man eight years ago was quashed owing to a date error on Tuesday, and the case will go before a court again for a fresh judgement.  

Azzopardi had been convicted of causing grievous injuries, as well as threatening and insulting a man in an incident in June 2015. He was also found guilty of insulting and threatening a woman, harassing both victims, wilfully damaging third-party property as well as relapsing.

The court had condemned Azzopardi to a 7-month jail term whilst issuing a three-year restraining order in favour of both victims.

Azzopardi’s lawyers filed an appeal pointing out that the date written on the front page of the judgment did not tally with that on the final page.

The Attorney General acknowledged the error and also pointed out certain other shortcomings which could be rectified by the court on appeal.

The case was assigned to the Court of Criminal Appeal, presided over by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri, in January.

When delivering judgment on Tuesday, the court observed that although the date on a judgment was not one of the formal requisites imposed in terms of article 382 of the Criminal Code, it was nonetheless an essential part of the judgment and not simply a superfluous formality.

The date gave certainty as to the time when judgment was delivered. It was an obvious requisite, ensuring the proper administration of justice.

Besides defining the peremptory time limits for filing an appeal, the date also provided the starting point for legal consequences stemming from the conviction, to take effect, observed the judge.

In this case, the registrar of the magistrate who had delivered the first judgment had entered a correction of the date.

When summoned before the Court of Criminal Appeal, the registrar had not denied that she may have effected that correction after Azzopardi’s defence had pointed out the error. And the correction was likely done after the appeal had been lodged.

In light of such evidence, the court quashed the conviction and sent the records back to the Magistrates’ Court for the accused to be placed in the position he was in immediately prior to being judged, so that judgment could be delivered afresh.

Fine converted to suspended sentence

In a separate judgment, also delivered by Mr Justice Neville Camilleri, Azzopardi had a fine converted to a suspended sentence.

That case concerned an incident where Azzopardi had been found in possession of a metal knuckleduster at Malta International Airport in February 2019, days before he was arrested over drug-related charges and circulation of counterfeit cash.

Azzopardi had subsequently pleaded guilty to the knuckleduster incident and was handed a €1,000 fine by a Magistrates’ Court in October 2019.

However that punishment was upped upon appeal by the Attorney General.

When delivering judgment on Tuesday, Mr Justice Camilleri observed that the applicable punishment in terms of law was one of imprisonment and not a fine.

Consequently, whilst confirming the conviction and confiscation of the knuckleduster, the court converted the punishment to a 3-month jail term suspended for one year.

Lawyers Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Charles Mercieca were defence counsel.