Vaccination of court lawyers should be prioritised - Chamber of Advocates

Lawyers who appear regularly in court should be vaccinated together with court employees in view of the real risk of contracting COVID-19 that they face, the Chamber of Advocates has said.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Chamber, which represents lawyers working in Malta, noted media reports earlier this week stating that all court personnel are to be scheduled for vaccination within the next two weeks, a move made after pressure was exerted by the UHM.

“More than three weeks ago the Chamber of Advocates compiled a list of lawyers who work habitually in court and who are therefore exposed to exactly the same risks that court personnel are exposed to; and requested both the Minister of Justice and Prof Charmaine Gauci, that those members included in the list be treated in a manner which is equivalent to court personnel and to members of the judiciary, who are even better protected than lawyers in view of the protective screens erected in court halls.”

A spokesperson for the chamber said it is unacceptable to see different treatment for members of the legal profession, who are exposed to the same, "if not higher", risks than those of court personnel.

"It is just as unacceptable that rather than allow common sense to dictate matters and treat equivalent situations equally, those who make more noise are listened to first," he said.

"This only militates towards motivating people to make more noise rather than deal with matters maturely," it said.