Lack of space is not the only issue

Just as parliament wound up and rose for Christmas recess, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Owen Bonnici said that the Law Courts are facing an acute lack of space. We are not talking about judicial reform here; we are talking about infrastructure.

It is true. Under the current system, we have a backlog of about seven years of cases (under the proviso that no new ones are initiated – which is, of course, impossible). One of the quick fixes to help support the creaking judicial system’s structures was to appoint more magistrates and judges. This is, of course, logical.

But in doing so, the number of court rooms also needs to be increased. First of all, it defeats the purpose of the move in not doing so, because it is useless to have more members of the judiciary because they have no court room to hear a case in. The Law Courts building is a massive one, but it was built at a time when no one could have envisaged the backlog that would have been created. Of course, the most logical step is to try and find unutilised space that could be turned into courtrooms. While there is not that much to be found, there are places that are not utilised. Some would argue that extending the Law Courts could be an option, but again, space is at a premium. However, the authorities could buy out some of the properties at the back of the courts facing onto Strait Street. Most of them are abandoned dwellings. They would require extensive structural works, but it is an option.

However, there is another case to be made, and that is to split our courts. Just as the Family Court was hived off into a separate building (which by the way is also too small), various jurisdictions could be housed in other locations. Why does it seem to be such a stretch of the imagination, for example, to find an entirely different premises for the Court of Appeal – to cite an example?

Why not, for example, find a new premises where only drug cases would be heard? Why not split the civil courts and house them elsewhere? They do not have to be in Valletta; they could be – for example – located in Mosta or Rabat. One understands that the Court of Magistrates and the Criminal Court need to be housed in the same building, but the same does not hold true for other jurisdictions. But aside from the problem of space, there are a multitude of problems that beset the Law Courts. They are falling into dilapidation and they badly need refurbishing. There needs to be more adequate seating and decent PA systems and information boards. The argument that a court building should be ‘Victorian’ went out of date years ago. Aside from the obvious – the people who work there and the people who are taken there to answer for misdeeds – there are a number of people who are called in to testify about cases, to perform jury duty and more. It is about time that the courts are brought into the 21st century.