Delayed criminal proceedings undermine Police and deny justice to victims & families

Minister for Home Affairs Byron Camilleri states that Malta has recorded a 100% homicide resolution rate since 2018. The work done by the Homicide Squad of the Malta Police Force is highly commendable. However, the statistic only takes into consideration the resolution rate at a Police investigation stage.

Our report on the length of criminal proceedings, published in October 2025, found that Malta continues to fail its legal obligations under both national and international law to ensure fair hearings within a reasonable time. Our country is among the worst-performing EU Member States for the length of judicial proceedings, and has been repeatedly found in breach of its duty to deliver timely justice.

At the time of publication of our report, 46% of homicide cases committed and arraigned between 2010 and 2020 were still pending. Our research found that the backlog of delayed justice in homicide cases is increasing significantly. Malta records an average of 6 murders each year, but only an average of 1.5 cases of criminal proceedings for murder are concluded annually.

The day the Minister published his statement marked seven years without justice for Lassana Cisse, a 42-year-old father to three children. An asylum-seeker from the Ivory Coast, Cisse was walking back to his home at the Ħal Far open centre with two friends after they had watched a football match in nearby Birżebbuġa. Cisse was killed when two shots were fired at them from a passing car. His alleged murderers have been identified and charged. They pleaded not guilty, but seven years on they are still out on bail pending their trial.

The effects of delayed justice can be seen in several cases in our research. Impunity is not abstract. It is procedural, hiding in delays, appeals, and technicalities, stretching time until public outrage dulls and families are left alone with their grief.

However, delayed justice is of great concern not only for victims and their families. Stretched out proceedings and long delayed trials increase the likelihood of accused persons absconding, dying, or being declared unfit for trial, of witnesses’ memory fading, and of available evidence becoming inadmissible as the law changes.

The delay in delivering justice undermines the work done by the Police. Justice is only served once a victim’s killers are successfully convicted. It is incumbent on the Maltese State to ensure their swift prosecution and conviction. Malta’s government needs to show political will, recognise that delayed justice is a problem, and join the effort to resolve it. Time should not protect killers.