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3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 OCTOBER 2024 NEWS MATTHEW AGIUS magius@mediatoday.com.mt CHIEF Justice Mark Chetcuti has blamed miscommunication for an apparent decision not to allow press photographers to cover his speech at the opening of the Forensic Year. In a statement issued through the Department of Information on Tues- day afternoon Chetcuti apologised for what he said was a "genuine mis- take". Earlier, the Institute of Maltese Jour- nalists (IĠM) expressed disappoint- ment over the exclusion of media photographers and camerapersons from attending the special court ses- sion. Journalists were allowed to fol- low proceedings. Contrary to previous years, only of- ficial photographers from the Depart- ment of Information, as well as those representing the Prime Minister's Of- fice and the President's Office, were permitted to attend. IĠM said that upon requesting clari- fication from the Court Services Agen- cy, it was informed that the decision had been made by the Chief Justice. No further explanation was provided. However, in his statement the Chief Justice said he was informed about the media reports after the inaugural ses- sion. "It appears the situation was caused by miscommunication and it was never the Chief Justice's intention to impose such a prohibition," the state- ment read. The Chief Justice said he had never imposed such a ban on media pho- tographers to cover the inaugural ses- sion. "What happened this year was the result of a genuine mistake for which the Chief Justice sends his sincerest apologies," the statement concluded. After photographers were kicked out of Judicial Year opening speech, Chief Justice apologises Chief Justice expresses concern at lack of specialised court staff CHIEF Justice Mark Chetcuti has expressed deep concern at the current lack of specialised court staff and repeated his plea for a dedicated building for in- quiring magistrates in his annual address to mark the start of the court year. His speech provided a snapshot of an overloaded justice system that is facing increasing difficul- ties on every front. The four judges who preside over the Criminal Court were handling an ever-growing num- ber of cases of ever-increasing complexity, he said, adding that more cases also meant more ap- peals at a time when there are already more than 150 trials by jury awaiting a start date. "Using only two courtrooms for [these cases] will lead to the inevitable conclusion that this number can only increase," Chetcuti remarked. He called for stronger adminis- trative and professional support systems in every area, in particu- lar the Gozo courts, where the two full-time magistrates han- dling all of the cases there were in dire need of immediate help and competent, motivated staff. Making a number of recom- mendations aimed at streamlin- ing the justice system Mr. Chief Justice Chetcuti also stressed the importance of having highly trained specialised clerks, mes- sengers, court assistants, tran- scribers and deputy registrars. He also recommended that a cohort of judges be appointed solely to preside over trials by jury and suggested that a re- classification of the crimes can be decided by juries and those which can be heard by a judge alone, in order to meet today's needs. He pointed to the approxi- mately 1700 magisterial inquir- ies currently pending, remark- ing that although specialised inquiring magistrates had been appointed, they were yet to be provided with dedicated premis- es and encouraged the Minister to deal with this problem "with- out delay." The Chief Justice also high- lighted the need for more court experts specialised in the fields of information technology and artificial intelligence. This was both because the current experts already had a heavy workload, but also because some experts were shying away from handling the most controversial cases, due to the inherent pressures arising from Malta's small size. The result was that foreign ex- perts were being appointed, he said. There was no capping of ex- perts' remuneration, he said, re- marking that it was unfair to use this fact to attack evidence in cases when there were no guide- lines. "The large influx of district and traffic cases being dealt with by the courts of Magistrates was a reflection of Malta's increased population," he said, recom- mending that these cases no longer be allocated to only two magistrates. While inviting the minister to appoint two more magistrates to handle non-criminal cases, Chetcuti pointed out that this would create problems as to where to fit them in the already crowded court building. "We cannot continue to burden the court building with more of- fices, space must be found else- where," he said, "The courts are the hope and shelter of those seeking justice…in a society built on common good and respect for human rights," said the Chief Justice, describing public trust in the judiciary as "indispensable." "In the past, justice was depict- ed as a blindfolded figure, not because she doesn't have eyes to see, but because the judiciary must only look at that which is just and right according to law when making decisions, with no regard to financial, political or social strength of the person before it." "There is a great responsibility for those chosen for this service to show not only legal, practical and human maturity, in their decisions and orders, but also impeccable behaviour and hu- mility beyond reproach in their personal life and behaviour that must cast no personal shadow over their duties, over the judi- ciary in general through some shortcoming." "Public authorities had a duty to respect the courts, observe their decisions and strength- en their standing by not allow- ing rulings to be disregarded or ignored," he said, adding that when the Constitutional Court orders that a law be changed, this must happen without pre- varication by the legislator. Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday) Camerapersons and photographers were not allowed to attend the special court session on Tuesday Chief Justice says it was never his intention to ban media photographers and camerapersons from event marking start of Forensic Year, calls it a 'genuine mistake'