Gozo magistrate cancels sittings because Gozo courthouse has no available hall

A Gozo magistrate has been forced to postpone all her sittings on 25 January by two months after she was told there is no hall available.

Magistrate Brigitte Sultana delivered the decree informing court users of the postponement five days ago after the matter was brought to her attention.

“Since the Court has been informed that on 25 January, 2024 there are no halls available in the Gozo courthouse, this Court is constrained to postpone the cases of the 25 January,” the decree reads. It adds that on the 25 January only those cases that were expecting a sentence to be delivered will be held, however, these will start an hour earlier at 8am.

The magistrate deferred all other cases to 20 March 2024.

The decree was brought to light by Opposition justice spokesperson Karol Aquilina, who said it was “shameful” that in this day and age the Gozitan courts were in this state.

He hit out at government for failing to honour its 11-year-old pledge to build a new courthouse.

“This is the result of pique between Anton Refalo, Justyne Caruana and Clint Camilleri. They are at loggerheads with each other and as a result it is the people who suffer. They promise a lot but deliver nothing,” Aquilina wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.

The government has long promised the construction of a new courthouse in Gozo. However, despite various plans being put forward over the past 10 years, none of the projects ever materialised. The Gozo courthouse operates from an old building inside the Cittadella that is unsuitable for modern-day needs and is plagued by a lack of space.