Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/637230
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 7 FEBRUARY 2016 News 7 made magistrate from the current race to the bottom, and I promise to carry out judicial appointments dif- ferently." The Commission for the holis- tic reform of the justice system, headed by former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello, had lamented in its report of the lack of trans- parency in the selection process and having no fixed criteria of determining who is the person most fit for the post. The Bonello Commission proposed that it would be a specialised authority to make the selection process, while the government, as much as possi- ble, acts according to the advice of that Authority when taking the final decision. The Anglo-Saxon system works by selecting lawyers in private practice and then carry- ing out a selection process by an independent commission that recommends the appointment of a judge to the executive. The Bonello Commission also proposed that lawyers who prac- tice their profession in court be given preference. "A good judge must be well trained in proce- dural law and such experience gained by forensic practice." Constitutional Convention," he said. Chamber of Advocates president George Hyzler – who sits on the Commission for the Administra- tion of Justice and was a former government minister under prime minister Eddie Fenech Adami – said the Chamber was of the firm belief that the more that the Cabi- net distances itself from the selec- tion process the better it would be for a healthy democracy. "The events that have unfolded over the last few days have shown how important it is to have a prop- er screening process in place prior to nominations being announced," Hyzler said. "We know that some do not share our views and are tied to the age-old practice that the Execu- tive knows best and should have the unfettered discretion to nomi- nate and appoint members of the judiciary. We respect that point of view but cannot agree with it." The Chamber will soon publish a position paper on the subject that should provoke a healthy discus- sion. "Democracy is a concept that is in a constant state of evolu- tion and we believe that we have reached the point where it is time for the Executive to let go. Had our advice been taken by the powers that be we may have been spared this week's unfortunate mess," he added. But as Hyzler pointed out, not everyone sees the need for a re- form. "I am not in favour of an- other system," lawyer Anna Mal- lia, an outspoken advocate who is a known face on television, told MaltaToday. "Let us not forget that we had members of the judi- ciary who were appointed right at the lapse of the minimum require- ments; others who never practised at the law courts; others who only did one branch of the law only; others who were in politics; others who were politically appointed at the European Court of Justice and others who had no knowledge of EU law and were politically ap- pointed as judges of the European Court of Justice. So why now all the sudden keenness to change the system?" Mallia argued that the latest con- troversy could have easily been avoided had the government done the necessary checks that needed to be done and consulted the At- torney General beforehand "and avoid the hype from the opposi- tion". "Why should we re-invent the wheel when the system worked perfectly well? The changes that need to be done are about the re- moval, and not the appointment, of the judiciary." Were government to take heed of the Bonello Commission these constitutional gaffes would not have happened KEVIN AQUILINA Medical students welcome Barts deal, but want to know more Ingrid Zammit Young (left) and Caroline Farrugia Frendo MATTHEW VELLA AN agreement between the Univer- sity of Malta and the government on the placing of medical students, has been hailed as a step in the right direction by student faculty repre- sentatives. But the student representatives have advised caution over what the agreement means for Barts of Lon- don, which will place its paying stu- dents at Maltese hospitals for their practical training. Alexander Clayman, elected rep- resentative on the faculty board for medicine, said the agreement gives the University of Malta legal per- mission to operate within publicly funded institutions, more impor- tantly Mater Dei Hospital, where in the near future up to 600 medi- cal students will spend three years training to become doctors. An intercollegiate board will also ensure optimal use of resources without encroaching on the current requirements of the Malta Medical School, the government said, while Barts will be paying for clinical ac- cess in government hospitals – but this is part of the global fee Barts will pay to run its degree course in Malta. The agreement will also allow Uni- versity of Malta medical students to be placed in other public-private partnership hospitals such as St Luke's Hospital and Karen Grech Hospital – now to be run by Vitals Global and Partners Healthcare In- ternational – at the discretion of the government and these operators. "Although the agreement is al- leged to specify that up to 600 University of Malta students are allowed simultaneous placements in publicly-funded institutions, the fact that 'placement' has not been defined in terms of hours nor in terms of student-doctor/tutor ratio, means there is considerable residual concern that the quality of medical education for Malta's future doctors is at risk of deterioration," Clayman said. Barts, a faculty of Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), will run its €175,000 degree course from its campus at the Gozo General Hospital, and will be able to place up to 180 students at one time in hospitals in Malta. This raised concerns among fac- ulty staff members and students of "sharing" teaching resources at the medical school with Barts's student- doctors, and eat into the resources that were formerly reserved for Uni- versity of Malta students. Mater Dei and Malta's other hos- pitals already offer some 450 uni- versity students the vast majority of clinical specialities. But with seven Maltese students to each consult- ant, this ratio is itself testimony to the strained resources at MDH: students even sit out on surgery sessions because only a maximum of three can be in the theatre at any one time. On the other hand, Barts operates a strict tutor-student ratio: two stu- dents for each consultant at outpa- tients and in theatre, and four stu- dents for ward rounds. "The term 'placement' has been left open to interpretation: there is no indication of how many clinical hours each student will have access to, nor any indication of future stu- dent-doctor ratios," Clayman told MaltaToday, who complained that at no point during the formulation of the new agreement were any stu- dents included in discussions. "This is a matter of concern and many of us feel that more students should be engaged in dialogue in the future." Clayman said it was disappointing to see that the agreement between the UoM and the government would be kept a secret. "Surely stakehold- ers such as students, teaching staff and the public at large ought to see agreements that concern them?", he said. Barts's campus will attract paying students to Gozo, although their clinical training in the third, fourth and fifth years will actually happen at Mater Dei Hospital – not at the Gozo General Hospital, which is not equipped for students' clinical practice. While Barts can charge €35,000 every year to its students – the in- take will be of 60 a year, reaching a full complement of 300 each year – Mater Dei's consultants were ex- pected to make room for this cohort of students on top of 445 student- doctors from the University of Malta.