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Parliament
Up till 30 April, Pliament was the institution that passed Maltese legislation. Now our laws can emanate directly from Brussels and these are regulations which do not pass through Parliament but automatically become part of our laws. There are the directives which come from Brussels but have to go through Parliament because they leave it to us to decide the form and the means of reaching the result that the EU wants to be achieved and thirdly, there are laws that are born and bred in Malta.
You are right to question how on earth we are going to know what new laws or regulations are being proposed by Brussels and which have become Maltese law. In Malta we have the Government Gazette, whereas Brussels has its Official Journal which is going to be made available in the local bookshops. Obviously, there is also the internet. But the problem remains that it shall be very difficult for us to keep abreast of all the laws that are passed from Brussels.
As is happening today in the Health sitting cases where citizens are being prosecuted for new laws that have introduced the new EU culture, more people shall be hearing of a law for the first time when they get penalized. This is so unfair to the public; the least it deserves is to be informed of the regulations and directives from Brussels.
The Courts
Even our Courts as from tomorrow they shall be experiencing a major shock – although none of the staff or the judiciary is ready for it. Take the case of the satellite license fee. If you go to a lawyer tomorrow to ask him for advice as to whether you should pay the license, he is duty bound to look up what Brussels says and his advice should be no. And if the Wireless and Telegraphy persist and take you to Court, your lawyer has to plead with the Court that that license fee is against that specific regulation of the EU, and the judge has to decide on what the EU and not what Maltese law tells him.
It is the same with the system of the right of first refusal. Any reference in an agreement or a private writing to the right of first refusal is contrary to EU law and so that reference is null and void.
The chairmen of the tribunals, the courts and any adjudicating body are going to have a field-day trying to decide cases before them on both local and EU law. Few of them have been trained to think EU or supplied with EU material and backing staff who can do the research for them. I believe that this shall work against the injured party because the person, who knows that he stands a good chance of losing the case, will try his best to procrastinate by raising these preliminary pleas regarding the applicability of EU law. Of course, no judge or magistrate or chairman, has the ability to decide their and then a particular matter on the EU and he has to take the time to consult and research before he comes to a decision.
This can take time and can take more time if the judge decides to refer the matter to the Judge of First Instance of the European Court for advice. So far our rules of procedure have not been amended to reflect this change in the procedure (what’s the hurry!) and if tomorrow your lawyer goes before a judge and raises the plea of the applicability of EU law, that judge would not know how to refer the matter to the European Court because he has no law which tells him that.
So what will happen? You will have to wait until the laws on procedure of referral to the European Court are introduced, then you wait until the judge has the administrative back-up for the referral to take place, then wait until the court in Luxembourg takes its decision, and finally, wait until that decision finds its place in the court file. Whether the referral to and from Luxembourg is going to be made by electronic mail or by fax or through the system of rogatory letters , I do not know. I only augur that this procedure will not be a replica of the evidence of testimony from abroad, known as evidence by rogatory letters, where the procedure is so cumbersome that it hardly ever gets done.
When the judge receives the advice from the Judge of First Instance of the European Court, he is bound to abide by that advice, whether he agrees with it or not. It is only than that he can decide on the case.
None of the staff at the law courts have received any training on the procedure for referral and let us be honest, how can I expect them to receive such training when there is no law on the matter.
And yet they want us to be Europeans .. but the Maltese way!
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