A presumption of criminal responsibility has been established in our laws by virtue of Article 3 (1A) of Chapter 104 of the Laws of Malta titled the Motor Vehicle Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Ordinance. Whilst Article 3(1) of Chapter 104 creates the offence of driving a vehicle without a valid insurance cover, Section 3(1A) creates the...

Extradition is the act of officially sending an accused or a convicted person by a State, on whose territory the alleged criminal is situated, to another State for such individual to be tried or serve the sentence. In other words, extradition is the formal surrender by one State to another of an offender who is...

Criminal proceedings are to be tried within a reasonable time. This fundamental human right is catered for in Article 39 of the Constitution of Malta which reads as follows: Whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be afforded a fair hearing within a reasonable time by...

The Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence Act, Chapter 581 of Laws of Malta, defines domestic violence to include: all  acts  or  omissions  including verbal, physical, sexual, psychological or economic violence causing physical and, or moral harm or suffering, including threats of such acts or omissions, coercion, or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, that occur within ...

A new approach to drug abuse introduced on the Maltese Islands. This approach moves to help treat drug abusers rather than to just simply punish them. This is by virtue of the amendments to Chapter 581 of the laws of Malta, namely the Drug Dependence (Treatment not Imprisonment). It is clear that the salient aim...

Angelo Zahra was arrested on the 21st July 2001 as he was accused of trafficking cocaine. Proceedings were brought against him and the compilation of evidence before the Court of Magistrates (Malta) as a Court of Criminal Inquiry began. In 2019 Angelo Zahra filed a request to make a reference to the Constitutional Court due...

The defence counsel on behalf of Angelo Zahra had requested a Constitutional Reference before the Court of Magistrates as a Court of Criminal Inquiry, claiming that the applicant’s right to a fair trial within a reasonable time is being breached. 18 years after arresting Zahra back in 2001, the Prosecution has not yet brought forward...