Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1389773
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 JULY 2021 NEWS Do you want to further your studies at MQF Level 7? Applications open between 14 June and 9 July 2021 until noon local time Visit myscholarship.gov.mt for more details. Scholarships Unit Ministry for Education Freephone: 153 visit www.myscholarship.gov.mt for further information OperaŸonal Programme II - European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 "InvesŸng in human capital to create more opportuniŸes and promote the well-being of society" Project part-financed by the European Social Fund Co-financing rate: 80% European Union; 20% NaŸonal Funds LAURA CALLEJA JUSTICE minister Edward Zammit Lewis said prescription on cases of sexual assault should remain in place, despite calls from victims and NGOs for its removal on such cases. Zammit Lewis says a proposal for the prescription on sexual offences against minors to be extended to 20 years, was a suit- able compromise. The significant shake-up ex- tending prescription by five years, starting from when the victim is 23 rather than 18. "The Maltese system is based on a statute of limitations and prescriptions are applied in a plethora of different scenarios, not just where sexual assault is concerned. "Is there a need for a prescrip- tion? I believe so – so what I have done is listen to NGOs and victims to come up with a compromise that respects the Maltese legal system and seeks justice for the victims. This is why I have proposed that the prescription should begin when the victim is 23, not 18," Zam- mit Lewis said. Zammit Lewis says his pro- posal balances what NGOs and victims are telling the govern- ment, while also retaining a fun- damental part of Maltese laws – "with the principle that pre- scription periods must remain," he said. But lawyer and women's rights activist Lara Dimitrijevic told this newspaper that sexual abuse on minors has a particu- lar characteristic, because of the vulnerability of the victim and the serious psychological impact it has on them. Dimitrijevic highlighted that such offences could take years for a child to process, and it is often well into adulthood be- fore they fully understand and come to terms with what they had been subjected to. "They are robbed of their childhood inno- cence and youthful adolescence. Perpetrators are often people in authority over the victims, sometimes people who they love and trust. Their abusers have many ways, some subtle, others not so much, to keep the victims quiet," Dimitrijevic said. Dimitrijevic said that while the extension was another step in the right direction, the en- tire period should be removed in such cases as to ensure that survivors are given the full op- portunity to seek remedy and have some form of closure to the ordeal that they have been subjected to. "Prescription periods only cause serious prejudice to the victims, protecting the perpe- trator from getting away with it… Imposing a time bar would only put further pressure on the victim to feel that their right to choose whether to report or seek redress and justice is based upon a ticking clock," she said. What is a statute of limitations? A statute of limitations, also known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal pro- ceedings may be initiated. When the time specified in a statute of limitations passes, a claim might no longer be filed or, if it is filed, it may be sub- ject to dismissal if the defence argues that the claim is time- barred. When a statute of limitations expires in a criminal case, the courts no longer have jurisdic- tion. In civil law systems, such pro- visions are typically part of their civil or criminal codes. The cause of action dictates the stat- ute of limitations, which can be reduced (or extended) in order to ensure a fair trial. These laws intend to facilitate resolution within a "reasonable" length of time. lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt 'Compromise' prescription on sex crimes suitable, minister says Justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis