By: Giovanni Bonello, Judge Emeritus of the European Court of Human Rights

Giovanni Bonello, Judge Emeritus of the European Court of Human Rights — Sun, 06 Sep 2020 18:11:38 +0000

The Maltese legal system has never, so far, had the benefit of becoming the object of reflection and study in a comprehensive, encyclopaedic, let alone interdisciplinary manner. This, in my view, evidenced a grim lacuna, with the evident victims of this deficiency being the inquisitive public, the legal professions themselves and students of the law. With what was hitherto available, no one could approach the many disciplines of law through an organic, over-arching introduction. In Malta, in so far as the culture of law was concerned, you were either inside the professional enclave or thoroughly out. There was no half-way house, no reception area, no graduality in one’s exposure to the challenges of the awesome architectures of the law. Plenty of detail, but no overall panoramic take.

Judge Professor David Attard has now come to the rescue, and quite daringly, I would say. I have had the advantage and the pleasure of viewing the manuscript of his work “The Maltese Legal System Volume I”, the very first book deliberately engineered to bridge the gaping chasm that separated the initiated from those out of the cold.

This work, meaningful and professional, takes non-lawyers gently by the hand, opens doors and guides readers through the mazes and mysteries of the main theoretical fundamentals of the law as well as through its practical legal structures.

So far, we have somehow done without it. After its publication we may well ask how that was at all possible.

Comments on: The Maltese Legal System Volume 1

By: Giovanni Bonello, Judge Emeritus of the European Court of Human Rights