[WATCH] Updated | Postponement rate of court cases halved thanks to new IT system

The six-month pilot project saw a significant drop in the number of court cases postponed • Video by Ray Attard

Justice minister Owen Bonnici marked the end of a six-month pilot project today, which saw a significant drop in the postponement of court cases through the use of a computerized system for delivering court notifications.

The project, which began in September, saw the accused and witnesses in court cases notified of their court sitting by a private company, freeing up police officers who were usually assigned that duty.

The system removed the need for all cases to be assigned at the same time, usually at 9am, which often led to delays.

Of the 861 cases before Magistrate Depasquale since September, 666 had been decided, of which 488 had been filed using this new system. The postponement rate has gone down from 35% to 15.5%, added Bonnici.

Addressing a press conference outside the law courts this morning, Bonnici explained that the new integrated computerised system, developed by MITA, would eliminate the possibility of sittings being deferred to a later date due to a party or witness not being notified.

After a six-month trial period, where the system was used for traffic sittings before Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, Bonnici announced that it has now been extended to Family Court matters before Magistrate Anthony Vella. A tender has also been announced for the extension of this system to all the halls in court.

The system uses data from the electoral register to find the address of those required for notification and uses the services of a private contractor – not the police, as is currently the case – to deliver the summons. After two unsuccessful attempts to notify the person, the notification will be published.

"Should the person fail to turn up for the sitting, the magistrate may proceed to deliver judgment in absentia," Bonnici said. "Witnesses will only be summoned after the accused has been successfully notified, which removes the problem of witnesses appearing in court only for the accused not to turn up. The sentence will also be issued immediately."

Bonnici said that this concept of “guilty-no-show” is already used widely abroad, including European courts and “our courts are already ratifying foreign judgments decided in absentia,” he explained, adding that there are safeguards in the law to protect those who miss sittings for legitimate reasons.

According to the minister, another advantage of this new project will be the elimination of the “ugly habit” of having several sittings scheduled at the same time.