Malta has slowest justice in EU as criminal cases take 11 years on average to conclude

Malta has the slowest justice system in the European Union for serious criminal cases, with proceedings taking an average of almost 11 years to conclude, according to the European Commission’s latest Rule of Law Report. The report warns that the country’s courts remain plagued by excessive delays despite years of promised reforms.

Brussels concluded that there has been ‘no further progress’ in improving the efficiency of Malta’s justice system, until a few months ago under Minister Jonathan Attard. It reiterated its recommendation for the government to reduce the length of court proceedings and address the increasing backlog of cases.

According to the report, first-instance serious criminal cases now take an average of 3,977 days – almost 11 years – to conclude, the longest disposition time recorded anywhere in the European Union.

The Commission also noted that Malta’s clearance rate for these cases stood at just 22.4% in 2024, meaning courts are resolving far fewer cases than they receive, allowing the backlog to continue growing.

The delays extend across the justice system.

Ordinary criminal proceedings took an average of 862 days to conclude in 2024, while civil and commercial disputes lasted 491 days, making Malta the fourth slowest jurisdiction in the EU in that category.

Administrative cases fared even worse, taking an average of 1,681 days – more than four and a half years – the longest in Europe.

Although the government submitted preliminary data showing improvements during 2025, including shorter disposition times and higher clearance rates, the Commission said these developments were not enough to alter its overall assessment that the justice system remains inefficient and that no meaningful progress has been achieved.

The report attributes many of the delays to chronic shortages of judicial resources.

While the government increased spending on the justice sector by 11%, recruited additional judges, magistrates and prosecutors, and expanded court facilities, Malta still has one of the lowest numbers of judges per capita in the European Union.

The Chief Justice has also called for regular appointments beyond merely replacing retiring members of the judiciary to reduce the backlog.

The Commission further observed that efforts to modernise the courts continue to advance only slowly, with key digital case management systems still pending and many core judicial functions remaining paper-based. It also noted that long-promised reforms aimed at speeding up criminal proceedings, including changes to the compilation of evidence, have yet to be enacted.