The application of the Statute of Limitation in Malta
Prescription, or as is more commonly referred to in other jurisdictions, the Statute of Limitations, is a notion originating from Roman law, denoting a fixed period of time within which a court case has to be instituted against a defendant. This is a fundamental element applicable to both criminal and civil cases.
The Maltese legislator enacted a body of laws determining these periods in relation to different offences. The executive police are precluded from instituting criminal proceedings after the lapse of the prescriptive period relative to the particular offence in question.
From a criminal law perspective, the concept of prescription is of great significance due to the fact that through prescription, the legislator attempts to safeguard the accused from having a case instituted against him a long time after the occurrence of the crime. Its objective is to restrain the executive police from charging suspects with crimes arising from the loss of evidence, death, loss of memory of witnesses and obscurity of facts.
The institute of prescription is of paramount importance in a democratic society, in attempting to strike a balance between the rights of society at large and...