Leading cases in Maltese constitutional law

Abstract

In this publication, Tonio Borg has taken the time and effort, not only to classify Court judgments dealing with Constitutional Law thus bringing out the main issues, but also to translate them faithfully and diligently into the English language. Why translate them into English, one may ask? What is wrong with the Maltese language? It is a fact that Tonio has collected and organized material which is available to one and all at the click of a button: most court judgments are available online. Yet, while I for one still encourage our LL.B. students to read the judgments in Maltese with a view to mastering the language of the Courts, Borg's Leading Cases are not a summary for those students looking for a shortcut, but are a faithful translation out of the often over-complex legal diction of our Courts, into something which young untrained minds will for the large part find easier to understand and to grasp. When reading these leading cases, as opposed to when reading the actual judgments, many will find themselves having one hurdle less to overcome in their research. They will concentrate on understanding the concepts, without having to make the effort to comprehend the oft-complex language. While grasping the language is important, it ranks second when compared with the importance of absorbing for life our constitutional doctrine and principles. There is also the fact that the English language is international, so thanks to Tonio Borg's efforts non-Maltese speakers have access to material which they previously did not. The use of the English language should thus help put our constitutional doctrine on the map in such a way that judgments written in Maltese cannot, precisely because English is much wider understood on a global level than Maltese. [excerpt from Foreword by Ivan Mifsud]