Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1481355
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 OCTOBER 2022 OPINION 11 Jonathan Attard is minister for justice Delivering the promise of media reform In May this year, for instance (and I'll come to the significance of that date in a sec) the Nation- al Statistic Office revealed that: "During the first quarter of 2022, 609 building permits for a total of 3,203 new dwellings were ap- proved; the number of approved new dwellings increased by 59.6 per cent [!] when compared to the same quarter of the previous year; [and] apartments made up 71.3 per cent of the total number of approved new dwellings." Now: why, oh why, would the demand for residential accom- modation have grown by a stag- gering 60%, in the space of just one year… if not because of the same policy of aggressive pop- ulation expansion, that Clyde Caruana himself admits he was a 'cheer-leader' for, until a few days ago? Well, actually there may be a few other reasons. One possi- bility is that – despite having only just told us (in September 2021, remember?) that Malta needed to 'deprioritise construc- tion', Clyde Caruana went on to present a budget, the following month, that was literally replete with 'incentives for the construc- tion industry'. And in case you were wonder- ing why Gozo, in particular, has been singled out for a particu- larly destructive wave of urban development, in recent years: these budgetary incentives in- cluded that 'first-time buyers will receive a grant of €15,000, increased to €30,000 in respect of properties situated IN GOZO' [my emphasis]; and that "the stamp duty exemption for first time buyers, second time buy- ers, and purchases of property IN GOZO will be extended." [my emphasis, again]. I need hardly add, of course, that this has transformed the once-magical island of Gozo into little more than a glorified (and 'uglified') building-site, where everyone (including ALL the islands local councils: both Nationalist and Labour) is now getting more than just "tired", of "cranes and concrete"… But in any case: put it all to- gether, and I think you'll find it raises a teenie-weenie little ques- tion. Why should any of us even bother listening to Clyde Carua- na at all… as he once again tells us 'what needs to be done' (while being far too busy with 'repeating the same, flawed recipe', to actu- ally DO IT)? For let's face it, folks: if the Fi- nance Minister had already real- ised that 'Malta needs to change its economic model', a full 13 months ago… and not only did he himself fail to lift even the ti- niest of fingers, in the meantime, to actually change that model, once and for all; … but he even went on to consolidate it fur- ther, by providing yet more (and more, and more, and MORE) in- centives for the very things that he himself admits are 'eroding our quality of life'… … well, is there any reason un- der the sun why any of us should take his second belated realisa- tion, any more seriously than the first? No, I didn't think so either… LABOUR has proven its governance credentials by implementing constitutional and institution- al reforms that had been shunned or shelved for many years. This has been recognised by the European Commission, which cited the changes in favour of the rule of law we introduced, as a model of good practice for other European countries. Several international credit agencies have also recognised this positive change. Our commitment to strengthening democra- cy is firm, and improvements to the media law framework reflect this commitment. In line with our solid mandate, the last legis- lature set up a committee of experts to propose ideas on how journalism can be strengthened in our country. Following the Public Inquiry report into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Gali- zia in 2021, we immediately started taking action to implement the recommendations therein. Implementation is no 'copy-paste' exercise. Broad consultation took place: there were sever- al public debates on this subject, draft Bills were prepared; Prime Minister Robert Abela passed on the drafts to the Committee of Experts by tabling them in Parliament. The recommenda- tions of the Committee of Experts were, in their majority, taken on board as reflected in the re- form presented. As the fourth pillar of our democracy, the im- portance of the media and journalists' valuable contribution to the functioning of democracy are not up for discussion. With these three draft laws we are strengthening the protection and freedom of the media, and Maltese journalists will be given the highest certainty and protec- tion to be recognised in the Constitution of our country. We will establish, by law, a committee focused solely on the protection of journalists, other media professionals and persons in public life, a step crucial for the recognition and safeguarding of journalists and media professionals in Malta. When a crime of bodily harm is committed on a journalist or media actor, that is attributable to the present or past execution of their role, the aggravated crime will be incur increased pun- ishment. In the case of defamation, court registry fees will not be due by defendants when the reply is filed, but liability to pay those fees will depend on the Court's final judgment. When the author or editor dies when civil def- amation proceedings are pending, or transferred to the heirs, or where proceedings may still be commenced after the death against the heirs, it will be provided that the Court when deciding on the merits, will not grant damages against the heirs of the deceased author or editor. It will also be entitled to stop proceedings when it consid- ers that the determination as to whether there was in fact defamation, cannot be made in the absence of the deceased author or editor. We took a very firm stand against the abu- sive financial and organisational paralysation of journalists, to become one of the first EU coun- tries to introduce anti-SLAPP provisions in the Media and Defamation Act, to the extent possi- ble today without infringing EU law and inter- national law. We will see that there will be no abuse of pro- cedures aimed at scaring, hindering, or discour- aging public participation of journalists and media professionals through the filing of actions in foreign courts that could have been filed in Malta. Thus, the Maltese Court will limit the execu- tion of a foreign judgment such that the dam- ages and expenses ordered to be paid, will be equivalent to what would have had to be paid according to Maltese law. The government will also reject the execution of the judgment if the Maltese Court determines that it violates the right to freedom of expression as protected in Malta. In defamation claims deemed "manifestly un- founded" at the start of proceedings, the Court can apply a new 'early dismissal' procedure to stop the case when the defendant establishes, prima facie that the case is manifestly unfound- ed; the burden of proof to the contrary will be then transferred to the claimant. This government believes journalists must be able to fulfil their democratic role with certainty, which also informs the proposed Constitutional amendments, once approved by the House with the necessary simple, and qualified majority re- quired in each case. They include provisions recognising the im- portance of the role of the media and journal- ists, both in the entrenched and non-entrenched parts of the Constitution; the Constitution will explicitly recognise media freedom, the role of the media as a public watchdog, and the right to practice free journalism; the protection of jour- nalists and their sources will also be elevated to a constitutional level; and the right to privacy will be widened, and the protection of freedom of expression enhanced. These ground-breaking and innovative amend- ments will enshrine the duty to respect media freedom and pluralism, and the significance of the journalists' role in society in the Constitu- tion. Once adopted, they will guarantee a very high level of protection for all media actors. Like any other reform in a democracy, there will be debate: some believe we could have done more, or done it differently. What is certain is that this reform does much to strengthen the role of journalists, which is why it deserves Par- liament's support. We will continue implementing the necessary changes to ensure this reform is delivered effec- tively and efficiently. Jonathan Attard