Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1195815
5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 DECEMBER 2019 NEWS UN expert proposes Security Service overhaul MATTHEW VELLA THE UN Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy is rec- ommending to the Govern- ment of Malta to reinforce the protection of fundamental hu- man rights and respect for the rule of law in the context of the reform of its surveillance, poli- cy, legislation and practices. Prof. Joe Cannataci, appoint- ed as an independent expert by the Human Rights Coun- cil in 2015 in the wake of the 2013 Snowden revelations over surveillance, submitted a set of detailed proposals to the gov- ernment about the overhaul of Malta's Security Service Act as well as complementary consti- tutional amendments. "Recent developments in Malta seem to indicate that existing safeguards need to be significantly improved in order to conform to Malta's obliga- tions under human rights law and thus retain the confidence of the international communi- ty in the rule of law in Malta," Cannataci said. "Malta's laws need to be re- formed so as to introduce greater accountability and bet- ter safeguards which would protect privacy, the rule of law and democratic governance in Malta. "I have followed closely the revelations which have unfold- ed in Malta's judicial proceed- ings over the past several weeks and I am offering a set of de- tailed recommendations which should tighten safeguards and avoid the current potential for conflicts of interest, especially where the role of ministers and the Prime Minister is con- cerned," he said in the letter to the Government. Among the recommenda- tions are the creation of an independent Security Com- missioner responsible for ap- proving interception warrants and other activities of the Malta Security Service (MSS); the creation of a Security Ser- vice Oversight Board consist- ing of three serving or retired Judges tasked with oversight of the Security Commissioner and the MSS as well as with dealing with complaints from the public about the MSS; and the change of ultimate report- ing lines for the MSS from the Prime Minister to the Presi- dent. "These new legal safeguards should intrinsically improve the protection of citizens avail- able under Maltese law and al- so serve to bolster international confidence that the Executive in Malta is sincerely commit- ted to bringing integrity to the country's institutions," said Cannataci. Cannataci also proposed the expansion of the President's powers in appointing the Head of the MSS, the Security Com- missioner and the Security Ser- vice Oversight Board, and an increased constitutional role for the President of the Repub- lic with regard to the opera- tions and findings of the MSS. The UN expert also said Malta should have a new con- stitutional power to dismiss the Prime Minister in cases where when, after information received by the President in terms of the Security Services Act or on account of strong evidence in the public domain, the President would remove the Prime Minister from office on grounds that his behaviour or those of his close associates may be exposing him or them to imminent prosecution for serious crimes or are otherwise seriously prejudicial to the na- tional interest or to the inter- national reputation of Malta. The observation dovetails with recent revelations in the Daphne Caruana Galizia assas- sination investigation, in which it was revealed that Joseph Muscat's chief-of-staff Keith Schembri was present for MSS briefings which identified his business associate and friend Yorgen Fenech as the master- mind – yet was never dismissed from the briefings. Cannataci has also proposed the tightening of Parliamen- tary scrutiny by the elevation of the Security Committee to a standing committee of Parlia- ment and the removal of Prime Ministerial veto over what the Security Committee actually reads, with such "filter power" being instead transferred to the President. Malta employs an independ- ent Commissioner – usually a retired judge or the Attorney General – to receive com- plaints from the public and to review the home affairs minis- ter's exercise of the issuing of warrants for interception. The position is required to be held by a person 'who holds or has held high judicial office', to ensure independence from government. However, Mal- ta's law allows the Attorney General to fill the post if it has not been accorded to a retired judge – a questionable aspect when the AG represents gov- ernment. Malta's Security Committee is composed of the Prime Minis- ter, the Home Affairs Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Leader of the Opposi- tion. Given that the committee examines the policy of the Se- curity Service, there is a con- flict of interest with the fact that the Home Affairs Minister is responsible for authorising warrants whilst overseeing the actions of the Secret Service.