A man with ‘no fear of the law’ saw his sentence reduced by two months as a result of efforts to reform himself.

Julian Cucciardi, 26, was in 2015 charged with driving an unlicensed car without insurance and without a licence, not wearing a seatbelt, refusing to give his particulars to the police and relapsing. He had admitted the charges before the court of magistrates in 2016 and was jailed for 12 months.

The prosecution, led by Police Inspector Maria Stella Attard, had also asked that the court to disqualify him from driving.

Mr Cucciardi appealed the sentence, arguing that the punishment was excessive. He argued he had reformed since the incident and a fine would be a better punishment for the crime.

Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti presiding the Court of Criminal Appeal, decided that the punishment was within the parameters laid down by law.

The court noted that the first court had observed that this was the third time that Mr Cucciardi had been found guilty of the same offence. It had ruled that the accused had “no fear of the law and no reason to obey it” and that other courts had made similar observations.

Mr Justice Grixti highlighted the fact that constant jurisprudence had established that a first court’s decision on punishment should stand unless it was not within the parameters or form set down in the law.

The judge said he saw no reason to re-calibrate the discretion exercised by the first court. But having heard the appellant make several arguments about how he had reformed and had used the vehicle in an emergency, despite having brought no evidence to sustain his claims, Mr Justice Grixti saw a window of opportunity to keep the man on the right side of the law.

The court said it hoped that the accused was truly trying to reform himself, and added that it would reduce his punishment, not because it was too harsh, but for him to understand that the court was also helping him reach his goals.

As a result, Mr Cucciardi’s 12-month jail term was reduced to 10 months.