Chief Justice assigns magisterial duties

Magisterial inquiries into incidents involving aircraft will be conducted by Magistrate Giovanni Grixti, the Chief Justice has decided.

The magistrate will also be handling all the procedures dealing with the formal investigation of shipping casualties and inquiries into the conduct of officers as laid down in the Merchant Shipping Act.

He will also handle cases where the restraining of ships is required according to the Malta Maritime Authority Act. The duties were assigned by Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano who also decided to assign Magistrate Michael Mallia to all civil libel cases heard before the Magistrates' Courts in Malta.

Magistrate Anthony Ellul will be handling all the civil and criminal libel cases in the same court in Gozo.

The Chief Justice's decisions, made according to powers granted to him by law, were posted on a notice board at the law courts.

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Article © Allied Newspapers Ltd., printed on Tuesday, January 6, 2009. This article is for personal use only, and should not be distributed.

Comments

Charles Sammut (on 27/8/08)

What refreshing news. Some common sense at last.

Mag. Grixti, being a pilot and aviation enthusiast himself, will be in a better position than most to handle such cases. It is immensely frustrating, not to say unjust, to have someone without the requisite technical background deciding such cases.

I do however auger that his aviation related caseload will be light or preferably nil.