Which evidence is admissible 

According to law, once a Bill of Indictment is filed by the Attorney General, the accused must be notified and given time to respond with what are referred to as preliminary pleas, including evidence the defence feels should not be admitted on procedural grounds. 

A list of witnesses the defence wants to call is also drawn up. These pleas are then passed on to the Attorney General who can also raise objections. 

A hearing is then appointed to hear the AG and the defence’s submissions on these pleas. This normally happens in a single sitting after which a judgment is handed down with the court accepting or denying the various pleas. 

This will likely take a few months, though the fact that Fenech has been kept under preventative custody since his arrest will mean that things will move quicker than in cases where the accused has been released on bail. 

This judgment can be appealed before the Court of Criminal Appeal by both parties. This too normally happens in a single sitting, presided over by three judges. 

Once the appeal is decided, the case is sent back to the Criminal Court for a trial by jury to be appointed. 

Selecting jury members 

The first day of the trial is dedicated to selecting the members of the jury. 

The way jury selection works is that a list of jurors is compiled twice a year at a meeting attended by the Police Commissioner, the Senior Magistrate, the Attorney General, the President of the Chamber of Advocates and the President of the Chamber of Legal Procurators. 

Every month, a list of potential jurors for that month. This list normally contains some 150 names. 

Once the trial begins, all the jurors on the list are notified that they must present themselves in court. Any potential jurors who satisfy the conditions to be exempt from the trial must file a court application. 

Nine jurors and three additional individuals are then selected at random from the remaining eligible candidates. 

Their name is called out and they are asked to step forward. The only information provided about each candidate is their name, surname, ID card number, their profession and the locality they are from. 

The defence can at this point object to a maximum of three jurors, without the need to justify its objection. Other jurors can be objected to if they meet any of the criteria making them ineligible. 

Anyone who has been interdicted or incapacitated is bankrupt, people who are unfit to serve due to a “notorious physical or mental defect”, or anyone under trial for any crime, are not eligible to serve as jurors. 

 In addition to this, MPs, mayors and local councillors, medical professionals and teachers and other civil servants are also ineligible to serve. 

Legal sources who spoke to Lovin Malta said it would likely be a year or more before the trial starts. 

Fenech’s defence has, over the course of proceedings against him, especially in recent months, claimed that their client has been a victim of negative media coverage which it claims breaches his right to a fair trial. 

It is, therefore, reasonable to expect that Constitutional proceedings will be filed in this regard, further delaying the start of the trial. 

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