The creation of an appellate jurisdiction in criminal matters and its legislative developments under Maltese law

Abstract

Chapter 1: Why should there be a Criminal Appeal? This chapter tackles the right of Appeal in Criminal matters from a philosophical aspect. The Criminal Appeal is a vital part of the Criminal procedural system because it is the mechanism whereby errors or injustices committed before a Court of first instance are remedied. Although the Accusatorial and the Inquisitorial systems both admit that the appeal system is a fundamental procedural mechanism, they have divergent views in relation to the appeal system. Chapter 2: The Creation of a Court of Criminal Appeal Up to a certain point in time Malta lacked the structure of a Court of Criminal Appeal. This chapter deals with the historical evolution of the Court of Criminal Appeal. The introduction in 1900 of the Court of Criminal Appeal, which had to hear and determine appeals from decisions of the Court of Magistrates, was followed in 1967 by the introduction of a right to appeal from decisions of the Criminal Court. The creation of this latter court was besotted by criticisms arid frustrated by the diametrically opposed views propounded by Judges and Members of Parliament. Chapter 3: The reviewing function of the Court of Criminal Appeal in determining Appeals. This chapter analyses the law regulating the determination of appeal, both in the case of appeals from decisions of the Court of Magistrates and in the case of appeals from decisions of the Criminal Court. Having examined the provisions of the law, and having (in chapter 2) dealt with the debate regarding the two schools of thought propounded with reference to the test required in the review of decisions, it is important to focus on the jurisprudence related to the subject. This is due to the fact that it was held on many occasions that the Court of Criminal Appeal is a court of review and not a court of first instance. Chapter 4 This final chapter focuses on the expansion of the range of application of the right of appeal in Criminal matters. There was ultimately an increase in the competence of the Court of Criminal Appeal to encompass breaches of laws which fall outside the sphere of application of the Criminal Code.