Prosecution in the court of magistrates : towards equality of arms and more efficiency

Abstract

The Criminal Procedure in Malta has not undergone any radical changes for a long time. In the last couple of years the Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government embarked on a pilot project which started testing the introduction of some fundamental changes in the way prosecution in the Court of Magistrates works. This thesis’ recommendations are based on the information gathered on the development of the prosecution in the Court of Magistrates, the present system and foreign jurisdictions. Two local reports compiled in the span of sixteen years, both proposing changes in the prosecution system are also looked into. Since no information is available on the project mentioned and its partial outcomes, the thesis conducts an analysis by means of interviews with all stakeholders involved or interested. Future changes which this project aims at introducing such as the judgment in absentia, have also been discussed. Recommendations proposed are split in three categories. The first is related to the pilot project, the second deals with the legal amendments needed and the third are general makes recommendations. Some can be done in the immediate future, others need time both for the necessary preparation such as legal amendments and in order to allow enough time for people involved to get used to the changes. The essence is to improve the efficiency and increase the equality of arms between the defence and prosecution in the Court of Magistrates as a Court of Criminal Judicature.