Advocates' president calls on judiciary to lead exemplary life

The president of the Chamber of Advocates Rueben Balzan called on members of the judiciary to be exemplary in every aspect of their public and private life, in a bid to reverse the high perception of corruption within the judiciary as recently reflected in a Eurobarometer survey.

The survey showed that 49% of Maltese believe that the judiciary was corrupt, a figure which was 17% higher than the EU average.

Balzan was addressing a full courtroom that bid farewell to Judge Alberto Magri who is retiring after 21 years on the bench.

He expressed himself in agreement with Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri's analysis on the survey, who said that this negative perception is due to the judges' bribery scandal which had rocked the judiciary in 2002.

He added, however that it was interesting to note that those interviewed declared that they have never experienced direct corruption or were exposed to it.

Balzan said that his chamber will work hard with the judiciary to reverse this distorted perception.

Present for the farewell ceremony were justice minister Chris Said, the Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, judges, magistrates and lawyers.