A man accused of injuring another during a brawl in Marsa has been left in legal limbo by a series of legal errors in his case.
The magistrate, court registrar, prosecuting officer and attorney general's office all made mistakes in the case, Madam Justice Edwina Grima found as she said that she could neither fix the procedural errors nor order the man’s re-arrest.
Deniro Magri was arraigned last August and charged with slightly injuring another man with a sharp instrument, wilful damage to third party property as well as breaching court orders and a number of other contraventions.
Magri, who also stands accused in a separate case of shooting at a man, pleaded not guilty to charges.
His alleged victim chose not to testify against him, fearing self-incrimination.
The prosecuting officer summoned two police witnesses and then asked the court to decree that there was enough evidence for Magri to stand trial.
The magistrate's court rejected the prosecution's request, saying the evidence it presented did not satisfy the degree of proof required.
It therefore decreed that Magri should not face trial, and the case file was marked "case closed".
But the decree did not note whether Magri was to be discharged, or the case's records returned to the attorney general’s Office, in line with the law.
Two months later, a court registrar noticed the error and sent the file to the attorney general.
The attorney general filed an application, in November, to have Magri re-arrested, leading to Monday's decision.
The attorney general argued that the prosecution should not suffer due to a mistake made by the magistrates' court and court registrar.
But Madam Justice Grima concluded that while the magistrates' court and registrar had made mistakes, the compilation of evidence was also problematic.
It had been wrapped up in an irregular manner, with the prosecuting officer seeking a prima facie decree just six days after Magri was arraigned. Nor had the prosecuting officer flagged the magistrate's decree to the attorney general.
The judge also noted that the attorney general's office had itself made a mistake in opting for the wrong procedure when seeking Magri's rearrest. Rather than apply to the criminal court, it should have sent the case back to the magistrates' court, the judge said.
The criminal court could not fix procedural defects made by a different court and could not order that Magri be re-arrested as the compilation of evidence had not been regularly concluded, said Madam Justice Grima.
She sent the case back to the attorney general to proceed accordingly, if at all.
Lawyers Franco Debono and Giannella de Marco were defence counsel.