Delayed criminal proceedings deny victims and their families timely justice

The January 2026 trial of Stephen Caruana for wilful homicide highlights how delays in criminal proceedings are denying victims and their families timely justice. Caruana killed his victim, Neville Baldacchino, more than 17 years ago, in December 2008.

As shown in our report, Justice at Risk: The Impact of Delayed Legal Proceedings in Wilful Homicide Cases in Malta, Malta’s judicial system is riddled with severe and systemic problems, failing in its legal obligations under both national and international law to ensure fair hearings within a reasonable time.

Delayed proceedings increase the likelihood of accused or indicted persons absconding, dying, or being declared unfit for trial, and of witnesses’ memory fading and evidence being lost or becoming inadmissible as the law changes. In Stephen Caruana’s case, the house in which he lived and in which he killed Neville Baldacchino, was demolished by his father-in-law, Joe Gaffarena, who replaced it with a block of flats.

Malta has one of the highest expenditure rates in Europe on the courts, yet one of the smallest judiciaries per capita and one of the lowest resolution rates. On average, 6 murders are committed per year but only 1.5 murder cases are concluded. This is creating a mounting backlog of unresolved cases: 46% of homicide cases committed and arraigned between 2010 and 2020 remain pending, as shown by our report.

Malta is among the worst-performing EU member states on the length of judicial proceedings. The Council of Europe and the Venice Commission have repeatedly flagged the systemic court delays. The European Court of Human Rights has, in multiple cases, found the country to be in breach of its duty to deliver timely justice. Year after year, the European Commission’s Rule of Law report has recommended that Malta step up its efforts to improve the efficiency of justice. That recommendation remains unfulfilled.

Maltese authorities have the duty to eliminate delays and reduce the mounting backlog of cases to ensure justice is delivered within a reasonable time. A comprehensive, formal analysis of the justice system is needed to identify all contributing factors to the delays, and swift resolution of the problems must follow. Victims and their families deserve no less.