A run-down building just behind the Valletta law courts is to be turned into four judicial halls and 25 administrative offices.

The extension is expected to take around two years to complete and should be operational by 2023.  

Announcing the plans on Saturday, Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis said the €5 million investment is part of the government’s drive to reform and improve the legal system, citing other examples such as the recent inauguration of a new attorney general’s office.

Permanent secretary Johann Galea said the law courts had been lacking space and administrative firepower for years. This project would help ease those pressures, he said. 

The director of the court services agency, Frank Mercieca, said that the building's facade and a stairway within it would be retained. The tendering process might take a while to ensure that things are done by the book, he said.

“One of the key issues we experienced with coming up with a plan for this project were the complications that arise from ensuring the court’s daily duties remain uninterrupted whilst the restructuring process is ongoing, and we are proud to have finally managed to get this much-needed investment off the ground,” he added.

Zammit Lewis emphasised how despite the complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, his ministry had been working to provide infrastructural upgrades to Malta's judicial system, besides passing legislation to reform the legal system in general.

“We believe that this project is but one link in a chain of projects that are being done to make justice more accessible to all citizens,” the minister said.