Owen Bonnici: Legal aid lawyers’ retainer already revised

Justice minister Owen Bonnici has said that a story that appeared in the Times of Malta on Monday, that stated among other things that legal aid lawyers are paid a retainer of roughly €2,000, is factually incorrect.

Replying to a parliamentary question from Opposition MP Beppe Fenech Adami, on whether the minister feels that it is time to revise the remuneration given to legal aid lawyers, Bonnici said that while he was convinced that Fenech Adami’s question was a genuine one, he was obliged to point out that his question was based on incorrect information.

Bonnici said that the facts are that legal aid lawyers are no longer paid by the office of the Attorney General. “Two years ago, a legal agency was established, and through this agency legal aid lawyers are paid according to the line item for that agency,” said Bonnici.

He added that the second “lie” in the article was that the salary is of roughly €2,000. “The truth is that the retainer for layers has almost tripled, and went from €2,000 to almost €6,000.”

The minister said however that he agreed that more needed to be done to improve the courts’ legal aid system, especially since, with the introduction of the right to a lawyer for people who have been detained by police, the demand for legal aid lawyers has significantly increased.

He added that one of the first things that the government did at the start of the legislature, was to establish a legal agency, and issue a call for applications for an administrative manager.

“I agree with Beppe Fenech Adami however that the main legal aid lawyer should be working on a full-time basis,” said Bonnici.