Court dismisses Clint Pace's application to transfer his cocaine possession trial to the Magistrates' Court as filed out of time.
Criminal Court · Honourable Judge Natasha Galea Sciberras B.A., LL.D · 4 May 2026
Clint Pace was charged by the Attorney General on 21 April 2025 with possession of cocaine under circumstances indicating the drug was not for his exclusive personal use. The alleged offence took place on or around 29 April 2017 in Malta. Police had found 490.57 grams of cocaine in his possession, with a purity level of approximately 30% to 45% — more than double the quantity referenced in the guidelines set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Ordinance. Pace was formally notified of the bill of indictment on 26 June 2025. Eight days later, on 4 July 2025, he filed an application under Article 22(2A)(b) of Chapter 101 of the Laws of Malta, requesting that the Criminal Court order his case to be tried before the Magistrates' Court sitting as a Court of Criminal Judicature. He argued that the circumstances of the case, when assessed against the sentencing guidelines in the Fourth Schedule, warranted trial before the lower court. The Attorney General opposed the application, arguing that the quantity of cocaine found — being more than double the guideline threshold — represented a principal consideration in assessing the potential harm caused by the offence, and that this factor weighed decisively against any downward transfer of jurisdiction. The Criminal Court, however, did not reach the merits of the venue dispute. Instead, it focused on whether the application had been filed within the strict statutory deadline. Article 22(2A)(b) of Chapter 101 requires such an application to be submitted within seven days of notification of the bill of indictment. The Court found that this seven-day period consists of calendar days — 'running days' — not working days. Since Pace had been notified on 26 June 2025 and filed his application on 4 July 2025, he had exceeded the seven-day limit by one day. The Court underlined that where the legislature intended a time limit to be counted in working days, it said so explicitly — as seen in Articles 417(1) and 438(2) of the Criminal Code. Because Article 22(2A)(b) uses only the words 'within seven days' without qualification, the time limit is peremptory and runs continuously. The Court therefore declined to take any further cognisance of the application.
The Criminal Court declined jurisdiction to consider the application on its merits. Clint Pace's request under Article 22(2A)(b) of Chapter 101 to transfer the proceedings to the Magistrates' Court was rejected as time-barred, having been filed on day eight after notification of the bill of indictment rather than within the mandatory seven-day peremptory period. No fine, imprisonment, or other sanction was imposed at this stage; the underlying cocaine possession charge remains to be tried before the Criminal Court.
Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Fourth Schedule sentencing guidelines); Chapter 101 of the Laws of Malta, Article 22(2A)(b) — venue transfer application; Criminal Code Chapter 9, Articles 417(1) and 438(2) — working days distinction