On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Legal Aid Agency, the Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector, Jonathan Attard announced the fulfillment of another electoral promise through reform in the same agency.
Minister Attard explained how through a public call, the Agency recruited 59 Lawyers and Legal Procurators to offer a service within the Agency, this also means that more than triple the number of professionals from what is in -present. “This is a reform that continues to confirm the Government’s commitment to the rule of law. Why would it be useless to strengthen the laws, to strengthen our institutions and there are those among us in society who are deprived of justice due to social and financial reasons,” repeated Minister Attard.
It was explained that within the Legal Aid Agency specialization panels of Lawyers and Legal Procurators were created. These panels will deal with the assistance and representation before the Civil Court, both inferior and even superior, and another for the assistance and representation of the accused before the Criminal Court, both inferior and superior. Other panels were also created, among them, a panel for juries; a panel for the assistance and representation of victims of crime, which also include victims of domestic violence, before the Court; a panel of Lawyers for legal aid for counseling victims of crime; as well as a panel that assists the Agency.
Minister Attard went on to say that with this reform, the Government continued to build on the success achieved by this agency in recent years. From the establishment of the Agency until last year, legal assistance was provided in almost 7,000 cases. Between 2015 and last year legal advice and legal aid was provided in more than 2314 civil cases. Since 2017 the agency has been involved in more than 3751 criminal cases. This is apart from assistance to victims of crime and even victims of domestic violence.
The Director of the Legal Aid Agency, Bruno Zahra stressed how these changes are being made so that the legal aid lawyer provides a more professional and ethical service to the client. He went on to say that with today’s appointments, the Agency should be emphasizing legal representation that is professional, structured and ethical towards the legal profession itself.
