Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1542182
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 21 DECEMBER 2025 INTERVIEW The following are excerpts from the interview. The full interview can be found on maltatoday.com.mt as well as our Facebook and Spotify pages. PHOTOS: JAMES BIANCHI / MALTA TODAY Your job, to put it bluntly, is to scrutinise your former col- leagues. Does this make you uncomfortable? Not at all. I have to see that the judiciary is doing its job, as they expect me to do my job, so this is something we all have to accept. It's true that I know them well, but now I have this role and I have to do what I have to do. I want to make it clear that this office is not a tool to flog people; it's an important tool that ensures our courts are functioning. If someone thinks they can come and report people in bad faith to punish them, I'm making it clear; if you're not coming in good faith, you need not come to me at all. You're going to be setting a prece- dent as you will be the first one to occupy this office. Is there another institution similar to this that inspires you? I'm reading up on how similar offices work, but you have to create the model yourself. You asked me yourself, but other people have also pointed out that I'm close to the judiciary. They tell me I'm quite lenient and ask: 'How can you judge these people [the judiciary].' First of all, I won't judge anyone because I can only give recommendations to the Commission for the Administration of Justice. I'm going to be hands-on, if someone has a problem, I'll try to solve it directly by speaking to the member of the judiciary in question. Every complaint that comes to me, I have to take it up with the individual and they have the right to reply… You're speaking to someone with absolutely no background in law. Can you give me an example of a complaint you might encounter? Since I've been appointed, I've had five complaints, and they're all closed. Three of them involve delays. Delays in proceedings, in decisions, those are the most popular complaints because people need to know where they stand. We say justice delayed is justice denied. When we delay, we deny people justice, even if the individual wins their case. On the other hand, I want people to understand that there is a difference between speeding up things and rushing them. It's good that the judiciary doesn't fall behind on their work, but I don't want to see a situation where a judge becomes statistically driven. We must opt for sentences that are preferably handed on the date when sentencing is scheduled. Most of the judiciary already does this, and they refrain from rescheduling sentencing every time they are supposed to hand out a sentence. Rushing can give you sentences that don't do justice. Being speedy means striking a balance between time and a good sentence. We cannot sacrifice the quality of a sentence by rushing court. If courts aren't speedy enough, then that's where I can come in. How can that balance be struck? Most of the judiciary are speedy. Speediness means that you don't waste time. Sometimes, it's people's own lawyers that slow down the process, but it's not in each case. They use procedural strategies to try to tackle the other party and their clients blame the court… So, the court must decide when it should put an end to these delays… When you have a case that is more or less known by every- one in the country, for instance the Pembroke school stabbing, does this put pressure on the judiciary to make some form of decision when it comes to bail or sentencing? I can't really give you a reply because that's not my competence. But you were once sitting on that chair. Is that pressure there? The Constitution states that the legal process is public. Everyone can attend sittings, and everyone can see it… The publicity of the process is an essential part of transparency, but let's not confuse this with my role, which is completely different. Procedures are one thing and the cases I investigate are another. In fact, I can only recommend actions and punishments. The punishments I can give can come in the form of a reduced salary, and even a recommendation for suspension. We are living in a time where journalists such as myself are able to write live blogs of court proceedings and give live up- dates. Do you think we're going to see or should start filming and streaming proceedings? I don't think we should go there. Why not? Unfortunately, here we have a very different culture. If someone in a courtroom says one bad word, you'll see everyone making clips of it, and I don't think this helps. The publicity of the process is that everyone can attend the sittings. I don't want to open a window for voyeurs…