Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1442202
9 NEWS maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 12 JANUARY 2022 Government will support PN reforms 'if measures make sense' - Justice Minister NICOLE MEILAK GOVERNMENT will support the Nationalist Party's legislative proposals on corruption and rule of law if they make sense in Malta's legal and political context, Edward Zammit Lewis said. The Justice Minister was reacting on Tues- day to a raft of proposals put forward by the Opposition that include the creation of specif- ic inquiring magistrates focussed on corrup- tion. "I found support from the Nationalist Party in July 2020 for the reforms we put forward. We disagreed in some areas, but on important aspects I found certain support. Certainly, for government, if the proposals make sense there will be support from our side," Zammit Lewis said. The PN unveiled a package of 12 legislative Bills last Saturday to fight corruption and ma- fia-style crimes. The package includes the cre- ation of a special inquiring magistrate to focus solely on corruption by public officers and the introduction of a new crime for public officers who abuse office. "In principle, I agree with special anti-cor- ruption magistrates. But we need to look at the current situation. Our magistrates work well as is, and while there isn't a specific magistrate on corruption we have magistrates that tackle such cases well," Zammit Lewis said. However, the minister insisted that there are some flaws in the Bill that must be addressed and discussed before government can offer its support. He also quipped that the Bill should have included the misappropriation of VAT funds, a remark directed at Nationalist MP David Thake due to outstanding VAT payments owed by his companies. Zammit Lewis reiterated that the Prime Min- ister will soon be announcing key reforms in relation to the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry. "The Prime Minister carried out stakehold- er engagement, and spent months speaking to the media. We will carry out the reforms we need to carry out," he said. The public inquiry concluded that the Mal- tese State has to bear responsibility for Daph- ne Caruana Galizia's murder, while putting forward several recommendations on rule of law and press freedom. Recently, the Malta Chamber called on par- liament to work collaboratively and put for- ward the required legislative changes needed to address government shortcomings high- lighted in the inquiry. Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis anti-corruption measures magistrate who can commence investigations on his or her own initiative. The investigation and prose- cution of corrupt practices will become the sole prerogative of a "special inquiring magistrate," chosen from the existing pool of magistrates who will be directly appointed by the President of the Republic. As proposed the law makes no reference to any need of prior advice of the Prime Min- ister. Significantly, the inquiring magistrate will rely on his own staff and will not depend on the police in carrying out his investi- gations. The commissioner of police will be legally bound to detail police officers to assist the magistrate in his/her investigations. Moreover the inquiring magistrate, who will have security of tenure through- out the six-year role, will be able to commence investigations on his own initiative. This means that investigations on the Pana- ma papers and related spin-offs would not have required a police report to be filed by someone like Simon Busuttil, but would have been commenced by the inquir- ing magistrate. Although much would depend on the stamina of the magistrate chosen for the role, the new law first proposed by Alternattiva Demokratika in its 1992 mani- festo and subsequently by the Al- fred Sant-led government in 1997 would go a long way in eradicat- ing the climate of impunity in the country. Ironically the PN is now pro- posing the change despite its fail- ure to enact such a law in its 25 years in office. The president can grant a "cer- tificate of immunity" to those providing evidence to inquiring magistrate As proposed the law also gives the President of the Republic the power to grant a "certificate of immunity" to anyone providing evidence to the inquiring magis- trate without risking incrimina- tion. Significantly it will be the spe- cial inquiring magistrate who will present the request to grant immunity and the president will not be following the advice of the Prime Minister and the cabinet as happens in cases of presiden- tial pardons like the one grant- ed to Melvyn Theuma. This will strengthen the role of the Presi- dent beyond his/her current cer- emonial role. Recent constitutional amend- ments, which require that a two- thirds majority elects the next president, would also strengthen the perception of impartiality needed for the president to exer- cise the new powers envisaged in the proposed bills. Police can seek permission to detain suspects of homicide, drug trafficking and money laundering for 72 hours instead of 48 hours but only if their demand is acceded by a mag- istrate It remains to be seen how an extra 24 hours will help investi- gators in their interrogations of suspects in serious crimes. One major concern is the impact this change will have on the rights of suspects who may well be inno- cent but may succumb to pres- sure by the police. But apart from being limited to serious crimes, as proposed the extension in inter- rogation time will not be granted capriciously and will require a justification by the police com- missioner and the final approval by a magistrate.