Right to disclosure in criminal proceedings now in effect

The right to disclosure in criminal proceedings whilst under arrest has been introduced by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, through a legal notice.

The right to disclosure allows suspects, or those accused of an offence, access to information about their criminal proceedings. Through this, those accused would be in a better position to challenge the legitimacy of their arrest and detention and would have access to all the evidence available to the police.

This will safeguard the fairness of the proceedings and allow those accused to better prepare their defence, the Ministry said.

The Minister said that “disclosure” will result in faster and more efficient procedures.

The legal notice was passed by virtue of amendments made to the bill regarding various criminal matters published on 18 March.

On 30 November 2009, the EU issued a directive regarding a plan for strengthening the rights of suspected or accused people in criminal proceedings which include a provision for the right to information

The government will be publishing a number of amendments in the coming months which give new rights to people accused of crimes.