Matthew Caruana Galizia Says Trials Should Wrap Up Within A Year After Charges Are Filed
Matthew Caruana Galizia said he would like to see a speedier Maltese justice system, with trials wrapped up within a year of charges being filed.
After Yorgen Fenech was granted bail, over five years after his arrest, Caruana Galizia clarified that he isn’t contesting the fact that bail is a human right but insisting that criminal court cases shouldn’t drag on for so long.
“You cannot keep someone in prison without a trial forever,” he said.
“What we’re saying, and all victims of crime will agree, is that trials should be wrapped up within a year of charges being filed, before bail even becomes an issue.”
“Lengthy proceedings only serve the interests of the guilty. Neither the defendants, nor the prosecutors, nor the courts should be allowed to extend proceedings for years.”
He said the government is to blame for failing to introduce necessary reforms to speedy up court proceedings.
He noted that Jonathan Attard had prioritised clamping down on excessive court delays when he was appointed Justice Minister three years ago, a similar promise that his predecessor Edward Zammit Lewis had made.
In an interview with Lovin Malta, Attard had said he is concerned by how long several cases take and that justice mustn’t only be done and seen to be done but also done “in a reasonable timeframe”.
“Some delays don’t make sense to the accused, the victim or society,” he warned. “It’s an absolute priority for us to make decisions and implement reforms so as to seriously address this reality that has been with us for a long time.”
However, Caruana Galizia warned that Attard never followed up his promise and said it warrants his resignation as minister.
He went on to compare this delay to the speed at which Prime Minister Robert Abela tabled new legislation to reform magisterial inquiry process after lawyer Jason Azzopardi requested several inquiries into alleged corruption by his Cabinet.
“Governments serve for five years at a time. Five years have passed since reforms were promised and not a single one has been delivered,” he said.
“But only a few weeks after Jason Azzopardi started requesting magisterial inquiries into alleged corruption by his cabinet, Robert Abela tabled new legislation to make those investigations harder to start.”
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