Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1482086
6 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 OCTOBER 2022 NEWS NEWS www.pa.org.mt PLANNING AUTHORITY The Planning Authority is committed to ensure that land use meets the needs of today's society and future communities. The role entails a person/s who will be responsible for assessing and processing planning applications and preparing policies, reports and plans. Successful candidates must be in possession of the following: Qualificati ons First degree in planning or in a discipline related to planning or to one of the Development Management/Planning Directorate's specialised areas of work or qualified as an architect & civil engineer with at least some land use planning experience. S kills Skills in research and information analysis, communication and interpersonal skills, creative skills in identifying solutions to planning issues. Time management, quality control and monitoring. Report Writing Skills including ability to deal with pressure and abuse, and act with tact and firmness in challenging situations. Proficient use of ACAD. Candidates are to present scanned copies of all qualifications with their application together with proof of local equivalence, for certificates which are not issued by University of Malta or MCAST, which equivalence documentation is issued by Malta Further and Higher Education Authority (MFHEA). Candidates who are in possession of a foreign degree/s, are also to present a translated copy of their degree/s in English. All certificates and equivalence documentation are to be presented with the application, by the closing date for submissions. The position carries a starting annual salary and allowances of €24,542, a performance bonus and other benefits. Candidates who are 3rd country nationals, are to have a valid working permit by the closing date for submissions of the call, which permit is to be presented with their application. The above post is for an indefinite period. Interested candidates are advised to submit their application, by sending an application via email on jobapplications@pa.org.mt together with a detailed curriculum vitae in pdf format to: The Human Resources Manager Planning Authority Ref: Assistant Planning Officer Jobsplus Permit No. 481/2020 For further information visit our website: www.pa.org.mt/en/ vacancies C losing Date: 31 st October 2022 Join our Team Assistant Planning Officer Career OppOrtunity vacancy.indd 1 14/10/2022 09:15:27 Melvin Theuma evidence will not be expunged from phantom job proceedings, court declares MATTHEW AGIUS A court hearing evidence against five men accused of putting Melvin Theuma on the govern- ment's payroll, just months after he had helped arrange the assassi- nation of journalist Daphne Caru- ana Galizia, has rejected a request to expunge Theuma's evidence from the proceedings. Theuma had been supposed to give evidence in criminal proceed- ings against Keith Schembri, the former chief of staff at the Office of the Prime Minister, Yorgen Fenech. The other three men are former OPM customer care chief Sandro Craus, former private secretary in the family ministry Anthony Ellul and former Housing Maintenance and Embellishment Co Ltd CEO Anthony Muscat. But when Theuma took to the witness stand this morning, law- yers defending the five men ac- cused the prosecution of mislead- ing the witness into testifying. The lawyers claimed that Theuma's presidential pardon did not cov- er his actions in this case and he would be incriminating himself under oath. Lawyer Stefano Filletti insisted that in the absence of any physi- cal evidence that Theuma's Pres- idential pardon also extended to his involvement in the crimes with which the men were accused, Theuma had to be treated as a co-accused in these proceedings. "The inadmissibility of a co-ac- cused's testimony is established by the operation of the law! This request tends towards frivolity," submitted the lawyer. Filletti also pointed out that even were the pardon to be exhibit- ed, Theuma must still submit to cross-examination. "This battle is not one about relevance, it is mo- tivated by the right to a fair hear- ing and equality of arms in the courtroom, when we see this sit- uation unfolding where a witness is refusing to be cross-examined, on a crime which he had already admitted to and for which he had been pardoned." "The Attorney General is not understanding that this is a court and not a bazaar," Filletti added, describing the situation as "sur- real." After hearing the final sub- missions on the issue, presiding Magistrate Monica Vella denied the defence's application for a constitutional reference about Melvin Theuma's testimony. This request, had it been upheld, would have stalled the criminal proceed- ings until the issue was decided by a court of constitutional jurisdic- tion. In her decision, Magistrate Vella pointed out that the court's func- tion at this stage was to compile and collect the evidence. Making reference to the law regulating the powers of the magistrate during the compilation of evidence as well as citing from case law, she said proceedings were at an early stage. She noted that it had been estab- lished that for the purposes of de- ciding claims about human rights breaches, proceedings needed to be examined as a whole, after their conclusion and not while they were still underway. "While odious that a co-author is not arraigned with the other co-accused, this is up to the pros- ecution, at this early stage, the request for the expunging of his evidence is being denied." Gatt, for Keith Schembri, de- clared that in view of this decree, the defence was unable to reply as to whether or not it is contesting prima facie, "because the same accused respectfully contends that the court is going to decide on the issue of prima facie on the basis of testimony that his defence was precluded from controlling or cross-examining. This is our posi- tion." The other defence lawyers agreed with these submissions. Lawyer Michael Sciriha added that his client, Craus' would add that in spite of all the setbacks that the defence had endured, with re- spect to Craus, it was "evident that the prosecution had not reached the lowest level of proof, on a bal- ance of probability. In order not to close the doors of investigation completely on Craus, the inquir- ing magistrate had described his involvement as marginal." "The court must make a pro- found examination of the issue of whether a person who has been criticised from all sides, yet who testified nonetheless, when decid- ing on whether Craus has a case to answer, the court cannot rely on the testimony of a man who despite claiming to have been pardoned, yet refuses to testify in order not to incriminate himself." "Otherwise, we would be using the system adopted by Pilate," said the lawyer. The court adjourned the hearing till tomorrow when it will issue a decree on prima facie for all of the accused. Melvin Theuma