The applicant, John Camilleri, is a Maltese national who was born in 1968 and lives in Malta. The case concerns the discretion of the public prosecutor to decide in which court to try a drug trafficking case. Notably, Mr Camilleri, who was found guilty in November 2005 and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and a 35,000 euro fine for illegal possession of Ecstasy, alleges that, if he had appeared before the Court of Magistrates instead of the Criminal Court, the maximum punishment for a verdict of guilt would have been ten years’ imprisonment and a lower fine. He relies on Article 6 § 1 (right to a fair trial) and Article 7 (no punishment without law).
Citation: Camilleri v Malta (App no 42931/10) ECHR 22 January 2013
(citation from the official press-release prepared by the European Court of Human Rights)