Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1510560
on, and so forth, and so fifth… … and it was here, roughly, that I 'lost it'; and blurted out in open court: 'UNLIKE SOME OTHER PEOPLE I CAN THINK OF, IN THIS ROOM!' In any case, I could go on: but the fact remains that Manuel Delia still persists in lying about his (eternal, it seems) 'legal bat- tle' against me, to this very day. Just this morning, for instance, Delia announced his intention to… well, 'appeal from the appeal from the appeal'. In so doing he argued that: "The Constitutional Court never examined whether I was right about [what I argued in the appeals case]. It said rath- er that it would not hear the case because what I was actually do- ing was filing an appeal from an appeal, which is not allowed…' Erm… sorry, Manuel, but: 'truth be told', that's not an accurate representation of what Judge Audrey Demicoli actually decid- ed, with that verdict. And this leads me to suspect that either Delia himself hasn't bothered ac- tually reading it, for himself; or – somewhat more likely – that he is banking on the fact that none of YOU will have read it, either… … and - in Manuel Delia's own mind, at least - this simply 'frees him up', to distort the court rul- ing, in any way he deems fit. In actual fact, however, the Constitutional Court ruling be- gins by declaring that: "After CAREFUL CONSIDERATION of the following facts'; then it continues by listing out all the 'facts' which it has 'CAREFUL- LY CONSIDERED'.. and, sure enough, these include EVERY SINGLE ARGUMENT that Ma- nuel Delia ever made in his tes- timony, and submissions, for the course of the entire trial. And then, after having 'CARE- FULLY CONSIDERED' all of the above (not to stress too fine a point on it, of course) – it con- cluded that: "[…] IN THE OPINION OF THIS COURT [my emphasis], the Court of Appeal gave a deci- sion that was motive-based ['mo- tivata'], which VERY CLEARLY ['car u skjett'] explained the rea- sons why it was disagreeing with the Court of First Instance. For this reason, the [Constitution- al] Court sees NO GROUNDS for the Court of Appeal's sen- tenced to be considered as AR- BITRARY, UNJUSTIFIED OR UNREASONABLE." Stripped of all legalisms, what that ultimately means is that the Constitutional Court (after 'CAREFUL CONSIDERATION', may I remind you all) AGREES with the final, definitive verdict of the Court of Appeal. In other words: Manuel De- lia has now been found guilty of libel, in my regard, by TWO courts, not one. But… does that stop him from persisting? No, of course not! So what more can I say? Fine, Manuel, go ahead. Make it THREE courts, this time. (Heck, why not FOUR, while he's at it? There's still the European Court of Human Rights, you know…) As for myself, however: I'm go- ing to (try to) revert to my earlier resolution… and hopefully never write about this case again. IT could have been yet another sectoral agree- ment, but not for the members of our police force. After months of negotiations, the second sectoral agreement was endorsed by the force members because it truly meant that they would be the beneficiaries of better conditions and more rights. The latest agreement represents a substantial direct investment over the next five years to benefit the nearly 2,000-strong police force, which plays a central role in maintaining pub- lic order and security. The investment is part of government's effort to strengthen the police force by recognising that human resources are crucial for ensuring the country's security. Concurrently, we are creating an environ- ment to entice youngsters to take up a career with the police force. Irrespective of the political narrative, it's widely acknowledged by members of the po- lice force that this government had to be the one to open the door for trade union member- ship. Additionally, the government has kept its promise to improve police officers' work conditions, ensuring they receive prompt pay- ment for overtime and extra duties and not wait ages to get their due (if at all!). This was a significant step forward and a testament to the government's commitment to bettering the lives of its law enforcement officers. The new sectoral agreement outlines several improvements in the working conditions and compensation for police officers. It includes measures to ensure timely payment for over- time, extra duties, and compensation for extra hours worked beyond the standard 40-hour workweek. The agreement has financial in- centives for career development, specialised training, and tasks, which aims to create a more professional police force and make it easier for officers to progress in their careers. The new agreement introduces various al- lowances and bonuses, such as a special duty allowance, a disturbance allowance for specif- ic grades, and a 10% performance bonus for police inspectors. Additionally, financial com- pensation is provided to officers who use their personal equipment during duty. The govern- ment plans to allocate millions to increase the class allowance for the respective grades the following year. Reserve constables will also be entitled to this allowance, recognising their essential role. The government's actions reflect its ac- knowledgement of the police force's contribu- tion to upholding law and order. The police force members genuinely deserve these im- provements. We, on our part, shall remain committed to investing in the police force to recognise their vital role in maintaining public order and se- curity for the good of the community. maltatoday | SUNDAY • 29 OCTOBER 2023 OPINION 11 Byron Camilleri Byron Camilleri is minister for home affairs and national security Because they deserve it