The law courts are a place where emotions run high. From the criminal courts to the civil and constitutional courts, they are spaces where lives are dissected and disputed. Criminals are brought to face charges. Victims are forced to relive their trauma in pursuit of justice and closure. Citizens battle for what they believe is rightfully theirs. Broken families confront sensitive issues 鈥 from custody battles and separations to inheritance and maintenance. These are not easy stories. The Valletta building is saturated with people 鈥 who have a lot to win or lose 鈥 carrying bottled-up feelings that include grief, fear, resentment, anger. Tensions simmer. And, sometimes, they boil over. Usually, it is the lawyers who do the arguing. But every now and then, the conflict spills into raw, verbal and physical aggression. Which is why one would expect robust security inside and around the courtrooms. But this is not always the case. While the magisterial courts 鈥 that deal with police-led cases 鈥 maintain a noticeable police presence because of their very nature, civil courts often do not. And the consequences can be alarming. Recently, a civil dispute between two men exploded into violence inside a courtroom. The case revolved around access to a boathouse. During the sitting one man smashed the other in the face, leaving him bleeding heavily on the courtroom floor. The attack happened in full view of a sitting judge, who had to press a panic button to summon help. There were no security officers present in the courtroom, nor in the surrounding corridors. According to court documents, it took security nearly five minutes to arrive 鈥 by which time relatives had already intervened to stop the fight. The presiding judge, Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale, was forced not only to witness the attack but also to take action to prevent it from escalating further. In a ruling, Depasquale made a call for immediate improvements to courtroom security. He reminded the authorities that this was not a one-off concern 鈥 he, and others, have been warning about this vulnerability for years. In fact, the issue was raised over a decade ago. In 2012, during her inaugural speech as a judge, Madam Justice Jacqueline Padovani Grima had urged the judiciary to prioritise safety and draft proposals for enhanced security. Back then, she referred to a disturbing incident at the Gozo law courts, where a man was stabbed and a lawyer injured during a sitting. In response to the latest incident, the Court Services Agency CEO, Vanessa Grech said that 鈥渋mmediate short-term actions are being implemented鈥 and that a full security review is underway. She assured that further long-term measures would follow. Discussions with the Judiciary Association were already in progress prior to the incident, she added. Sources have spoken about funding issues. But, surely, if the country has 鈧690,000 to spend on the Public Service Expo Village there must be money to employ trained security officers to make the law courts safer. Security at the law courts should never be an afterthought. The courtroom must be a safe space where justice can be served. It should be the place where victims are protected 鈥 and not created. Ultimately, the message must be clear: certain behaviour will not be tolerated. The man who carried out the assault will face charges for his actions. But the fact remains that such violence should never have been possible in a place that represents justice and the rule of law.