Updated at 6.47pm

The Chief Justice has lashed out at journalists who send questions to his office and expect replies, saying that judges and magistrates “are not politicians or the chairmen of parastatal bodies who you usually ask questions and expect replies from”. 

Delivering a speech to mark the start of the forensic year, Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi said on Tuesday that the judiciary was bound by their Code of Ethics and could not easily speak to the press. 

Any word they uttered publicly could be grounds for recusal from a case, he noted. 

"Certain journalists every now and then send some questions to my secretariat and ask for a reply - if you please, by a certain date that they fix themselves," he said. 

“Do us a favour and at least wait for us to retire before we can express certain opinions,” the Chief Justice asked of the press. 

'No harm in asking questions' - IĠM

His comments drew a reaction from the Institute of Maltese Journalists, which noted that while the Chief Justice was free not to reply to questions, "this does not mean that there is any harm in journalists sending questions, or indeed any reason for them not to do so". 

Malta is one of the only EU member states, which has yet to establish a media and communications office within its judiciary. 

The Chief Justice said that for these reasons, he would not be saying anything an ongoing case concerning the way in which members of the judiciary are appointed to the bench. 

He did, however, say the Judicial Appointments Committee was doing a sterling job, minutely scrutinising all applications and even turning down some applicants, proving that it was not merely “a rubber stamp”.

Nowadays, the Chief Justice noted, few young lawyers ventured into the world of court litigation. Those who aspired to be the magistrates and judges of tomorrow would do well to spend time in court to gain the necessary experience though, “even if this meant financial sacrifice”. 

Respecting laws

The Chief Justice acknowledged that it made little sense in this day and age for proceedings before the Commission for the Administration of Justice to be carried out behind closed doors, without even the applicant involved. 

This sometimes led to applicants not even knowing the outcome of a complaint they had filed, he said. 

However, this did not meant that it was fine to break the law, he said, making an indirect reference to a newspaper which had published a decision made by the Commission. 

The Chief Justice was most likely referring to a MaltaToday report which in August claimed that the Commission had chastised a magistrate for a code of ethics breach. 

“If a law is not right or is outdated, it should be changed, not broken,” he said. 

This applied to members of the judiciary, who sometimes found themselves with their hands tied because an existing law would lead to an unjust outcome. Nobody, however, had the right to ignore the law because they believed it to be unjust.

'We're only human'

The Chief Justice used his speech to remind his audience that judges and magistrates were human beings like everyone else, and that no system could be infallible and result in judgments that were always 100 per cent just correct in terms of law and consistent.

This also applied to judges at the European courts, he said, where judges were appointed by politicians and not through “some divine inspiration”. 

The Chief Justice also praised magistrates for their work, saying they were all drowning under the weight of their workload and did outstanding work.

"People should thank them for the weight they shoulder, which is constantly growing heavier," he said. 

'We keep waiting' - Chamber of Advocates president 

The opening speech of the ceremony, delivered by Chamber of Advocates President Louis De Gabriele, focused primarily on the need for a law to regulate the profession.

“I was hoping that this would be the year when I could declare that the Bill regulating our profession had been tabled in Parliament. But unfortunately, once again, in spite of promises by government in this regard, and in spite of agreement between the parties, this Bill has not yet seen the light of day.”

Ten years had lapsed since the first draft was submitted by the Chamber to government, said the Chamber President and still the bill appeared to be “an unattainable summit.”

He argued that without a “strong, independent, integral and competent advocacy,” it would be hard to ensure a strong and competent judicial infrastructure in the future. 

In a drive to improve the legal profession, the Chamber has launched on its website a consultative paper on the lifting of the strict rules currently barring advertising by members of the legal profession.

This served the interest not only of the lawyer but also of potential clients who shared an interest in selecting a professional to provide him with legal assistance, said Dr De Gabriele, pointing out that this drive was intended to “improve and modernize the profession” in the light of an changing world.

The need for a law to regulate the legal profession was one of the principal shortcomings flagged by last month’s MoneyVal report, which perceived this a “significant risk” in addition to the fact that Malta did not have “fitness and properness testing,” for the legal profession. 

Now was the time for government to react to one of the main criticisms in that report, urged the speaker, pointing out that the proposed bill “actually addressed each one of the deficiencies mentioned in that report”.

By implementing this bill, the government would also be sending out an “important signal to the international community” that Malta was determined to address the criticism and risks it was facing in the international anti money laundering framework. 

“Meanwhile, with more patience, but with perseverance, the legal profession waits.”