Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/973467
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 25 APRIL 2018 4 News PAUL COCKS THE Maltese courts have continued to become more efficient, according to the EU's 2017 justice scoreboard. The scoreboard gives a comparative overview of the efficiency, quality and independence of justice systems in EU member states. Its aim is that of helping member states identify potential shortcomings, im- provements and good practices, as well as trends in the functioning of national jus- tice systems over time. Unlike previous editions, the 2017 scoreboard also refers to the length of criminal court proceedings relating to money laundering offences. The report was approved with 19 votes in favour, four abstentions and no votes against. Among the results obtained by Malta was a 20% drop in the length of time taken by Maltese courts to resolve civil, commercial, administrative and other cases, between 2014 and 2015. Despite the improvement, the length of time needed to resolve such cases in Malta was still the fourth highest among member states for which data was available. A similar drop, 17%, was registered in the time taken to resolve litigious civil and commercial cases. The only countries in which the courts took longer to resolve cases than they did in Malta were Italy and Cyprus. The largest decrease was registered in the length of time taken to resolve ad- ministrative cases, where a 64% drop was registered. The rate at which cases are resolved also improved between 2014 and 2015, with more cases being resolved than came in. According to the scoreboard, Malta had the third lowest number of judges and the fifth highest number of lawyers per 100,000 inhabitants in the EU. On the perceived independence of courts and judges, between 2016 and 2017 there was a 1% drop in people who believed Malta's judicial independence to be 'very bad', while those who replied that they didn't know fell from 15% to 19%. Respondents who felt independence of the judiciary was fair or very good in- creased by 3%. In comments to MaltaToday, MEP Fran- cis Zammit Dimech emphasised that the independence of the judiciary is an in- tegral part of any democracy and a key element in ensuring an effective justice system. "The Judiciary should not be a subject of political manipulation or payback," he said. Zammit Dimech also remarked on the need for proceedings to take reasonable time to ensure that justice is made in a timely manner to ensure legal certainty. In this regard, MEPs said that a large backlog of pending cases might also make European citizens and businesses less willing to trust the judicial system, with trust being a cornerstone for the rule of law. He called on the Member States to in- vest more in the development of judicial training and continuous education of le- gal professionals such as judges, including in another Member State, with the aim of exchanging experiences and best prac- tices. Malta's justice system continues to become more effective, EU figures show KURT SANSONE KEITH Schembri is refusing to answer questions about the nature of his business rela- tionship with two suspicious Dubai-based companies de- spite acknowledging their ex- istence. The Prime Minister's chief of staff admitted last week that 17 Black and Macbridge were included in "draft business plans" for his companies and described them as "potential clients". During the 2017 election cam- paign The Malta Independent had reported that 17 Black and Macbridge were set up in Dubai as vehicles to transfer money into the Panama companies be- longing to Schembri and Mizzi. The information came from leaked excerpts of a report by the Financial Intelligence Anal- ysis Unit. The report also alleged that 17 Black had received a pay- ment from the Malta agent of the liquefied natural gas float- ing storage unit at Delimara. Schembri and Mizzi had de- nied the allegations and did not acknowledge the existence of the Dubai firms. But last week, The Daphne Project released an email sent by Schembri's financial advisor at Nexia BT that showed how 17 Black and Macbridge were "target clients" of the Panama- nian firms Tillgate and Hearn- ville owned by Schembri and Mizzi respectively. The email says that Tillgate and Hearnville were to receive monthly deposits of €150,000 from their clients. It was in response to this revelation that Schembri ac- knowledged for the first time the existence of 17 Black and Macbridge but has since gone silent. While Schembri admitted that both companies were included in "draft business plans" for his business group, Mizzi contin- ued to dismiss the speculation, insisting his Panama company never had bank accounts and was set up solely to manage his family's wealth. The pair have failed to clarify the contradictory explanations. The Daphne Project also re- vealed that 17 Black had re- ceived a second payment from a company registered in the Seychelles that belonged to an unknown Azeri national. Schembri and Mizzi have de- nied any knowledge of the mon- ey transfers. In light of Schembri's state- ment, it is plausible to believe that he knew who owned the Dubai companies and what type of service they required. But after his immediate re- action to the Daphne Project, Schembri has gone silent and failed to answer questions put to him by MaltaToday. Meanwhile, Muscat yesterday insisted that he would not com- ment on any of the revelations from the Daphne Project so as not to "prejudice" ongoing in- quiries. Muscat was speaking to jour- nalists just after visiting cur- rency firm De La Rue. It was his first confrontation with jour- nalists since last week's revela- tions. The Prime Minister insisted on shifting his reply to the Egrant case, adding that a year after the allegation was made, nobody had come forward with a shred of evidence to substan- tiate the claim. Pressed by journalists on why he insisted on discussing Egrant over 17 Black, Muscat insisted that while journalists had the right to ask whatever they wanted, he had the right to answer that "this time last year the country was in turmoil be- cause of an allegation that the Prime Minister or his wife re- ceived a million Euro". "That allegation has today dis- appeared and it is my duty to ask and see that if there is any evidence, with all these jour- nalists investigating, it should come out," said Muscat. Assassinated journalist Daph- ne Caruana Galizia had report- ed that the Prime Minister's wife, Michelle, was the ultimate beneficiary owner of Egrant, the third Panama company that was set up alongside those of Schembri and minister Konrad Mizzi. The Muscats have strongly re- jected the claim, describing it as the "biggest political lie ever to be told." Silence is golden for Joseph Muscat and Keith Schembri Schembri fails to answer questions about 17 Black and the Prime Minister hides behind ongoing inquiries 1. Who owns 17 Black and Macbridge? 2. What is the nature of business they operate in? 3. When were 17 Black and Macbridge incor- porated in Dubai? 4. What type of ser- vice were you/your companies going to render 17 Black and Macbridge? 5. How did you/your companies get to know 17 Black and Macbridge? 6. Have you/your com- panies ever provided a service to 17 Black and Macbridge before Tillgate was set up? Unanswered questions In the wake of his statement on the revelations from the Daphne Project, MaltaToday asked Keith Schembri for more details on 17 Black and Macbridge. He has not answered any of the questions below: MASSIMO COSTA ALL homes for the elderly, be they state, private or church owned, are subjected to spot-checks by the Health Care Standards Directorate at least once a year, and undergo additional seasonal inspections to ensure temperatures within their buildings are adequate, health min- ister Chris Fearne has said. Replying to a parliamentary ques- tion by Democratic Party MP God- frey Farrugia, regarding standards for elderly homes, Fearne said that the random spot-checks had been introduced this year to enable in- spectors to get a clear picture of what normally goes on within the homes. Homes can only retain their li- cence if it has been confirmed that all recommendations given to them by the inspectors have been adhered to, Fearne said, with a risk analysis taking place after each spot-check to determine if a follow-up inspec- tion would be needed. "In certain cases, the management [of the home in question] is asked to attend a meeting at the Directorate. The questionnaire used during the inspections reflects the mini- mum standards for elderly people's homes, which were published in 2015," Fearne said, adding that in- terviews with patients and regular seminars for the employees and management of the homes were also held. The standards by which such homes are judged cover areas such as healthcare, privacy and dignity, social activities, meals, building conditions, staff training and man- agement ethics. Elderly people's homes spot- checked annually