Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1403840
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 22 AUGUST 2021 NEWS No response to UN expert's call for Security Service overhaul MATTHEW VELLA THE Maltese government has not responded to a call by the United Nations special rapporteur on pri- vacy, to place the activities of the Security Service under the review of an independent regulator, last made in December 2019. Since then, Prof. Joseph Cannat- aci, of Malta, has sent a reminder to the Maltese government in April 2021, calling once again for the in- troduction of an independent regu- lator for the Security Service. Cannataci, an independent expert appointed by the United Nations' Human Rights Council in 2015 in the wake of the Snowden revela- tions over surveillance, submitted a detailed proposal for the overhaul of Malta's Security Service follow- ing the arrest of Yorgen Fenech, the alleged mastermind in the Caruana Galizia assassination. Cannataci believes the Security Services could suffer from con- flicts of interest, especially where the role of ministers and the Prime Minister is concerned, because the MSS remains under the purview of the home affairs minister. Malta recently ratified the Proto- col amending the Convention for the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data, which Cannataci called a clear example of Malta's reinforced commitment to the rule of law. But Article 11 of this same treaty also binds Malta to "the require- ment that processing activities for national security and defence pur- poses are subject to independent and effective review and supervi- sion under the domestic legislation of the respective Party". Malta however does not have a system in place which would pass muster for the "independent and effec- tive review" of data pro- cessing by the Security Service. "I take this op- portunity to very strongly recom- mend that your government in- troduce with- out delay the much-needed changes in legislation re- sulting in the creation of properly resourced, fully independent struc- tures," Cannataci told Prime Min- ister Robert Abela in a letter. Among his recommendations are the creation of an independent Se- curity Commissioner responsible for approving interception war- rants and other activities of the Malta Security Service (MSS). Cur- rently, such warrants are issued by a judge. He also proposed the creation of a Security Service Oversight Board consisting of three serving or re- tired 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 reporting lines for the MSS from the Prime Minister to the President. Cannataci also proposed the ex- pansion of the President's powers in appointing the Head of the MSS, the Security Commissioner and the Security Service Oversight Board, and an increased constitutional role for the President of the Repub- lic with regard to the operations and findings of the MSS. Malta employs an independent Commissioner – usually a retired judge or the Attorney General – to receive complaints from the pub- lic and to review the home affairs minister's exercise of the issuing of warrants for interception. While the position is required to be held by a person 'who holds or has held high judicial office' to ensure independence from govern- ment, the 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 government. Malta's Security Committee is composed of the Prime Minister, the Home Affairs Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Given that the committee examines the policy of the Security Service, there is a conflict of interest with the fact that the Home Affairs Minister is responsible for authorising war- rants whilst overseeing the ac- tions of the Secret Service. JAMES DEBONO AS Malta is crushed by overdevelop- ment, green open spaces have become a new selling point for ministers in the scramble for the constituency vote. So is greening becoming the new patronage? Cabinet members whose portfolios in- cludes either park or fund management are actively taking credit for the upgrade of open spaces proposed in electoral dis- tricts which they contest. A MaltaToday analysis shows that at least seven projects valued at over €9 million announced this year are pro- moted by ministers contesting electoral districts in which these projects are lo- cated. The list excludes Gozo, which has its own minister with a wide portfo- lio (hunting included, quite dear to the Gozitan constituency) and is limited to garden projects and does not include other infrastructural projects. Currently three agencies are main- ly responsible for park developments: Parks Malta, which falls under ener- gy minister Miriam Dalli; Greenserv, a branch of waste agency Wasteserv fall- ing under environment minister Aaron Farrugia, and Ian Borg's transport and infrastructure ministry, which includes the road-building agency Infrastructure Malta. Borg is also responsible for capital projects like the massive Ta' Qali park as well as smaller infrastructural embel- lishment projects – one of the is a Via Sagra memorial of 14 commemorative slabs along a road in the seventh district contested by Borg. And ministers responsible for funding mechanisms have also taken the lime- light when announcing such projects. Scramble for deliverables: the ministers of embellishment Cannataci proposed the expansion of the President's powers in appointing the Head of the MSS, the Security Commissioner and the Security Service Oversight Board, and an increased constitutional role for the President of the Republic with regard to the operations and findings of the MSS In development: the extension to the Ta' Qali recreational zone is taking the shape of a concert arena, rather than a park area