Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1531843
8 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 26 JANUARY 2025 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt A judicial reform commission set up by the Labour government in 2013 never suggested limiting citi- zens' rights to request inquiries in its proposal to overhaul magisteri- al inquests. The Commission for Holistic Reform in the Justice Sector, bet- ter known as the Bonello Com- mission, had suggested hiving off inquiries from the responsibility of magistrates and handing them to the prosecutor's office – the At- torney General. However, the Bonello Commis- sion, headed by former judge Gio- vanni Bonello, had also suggested that the appointment of the AG be similar to that of judges and magistrates thus guaranteeing complete independence from the government. The recommendations made by the Bonello Commission more than 11 years ago are pertinent in today's circumstances when the government is planning to change the manner by which an ordinary citizen can request a magisterial inquiry. The government has so far not published the proposed Bill but on TVM's Xtra last week, Attard said the reform has long been coming. He said the Bonello Commis- sion and the Council of Europe's Venice Commission had also proposed reforming magisterial inquiries. "They both went to the extreme of suggesting removing inquiries from the hands of mag- istrates," Attard said. What he failed to point out was that neither of the two commis- sions proposed changes to the manner by which ordinary citi- zens can request a magisterial in- quiry. However, Attard gave the clear- est indication yet that one of the changes would require a citizen to first file a police report. Only after the police fail to take action can the citizen request a magisterial inquiry. Other obstacles may also be in the pipeline. The decision to reform inquiries came in the wake of five separate investigations requested by for- mer MP Jason Azzopardi during the Christmas holidays. Prime Minister Robert Abela and several Labour Party expo- nents have accused Azzopardi of abusing the system and using in- quiries to carry out political perse- cution. On Xtra, Attard insisted the gov- ernment wants to ensure that the justice system, including magis- terial inquiries, be a tool for good and not a weapon of persecution. However, his reference to the Bonello Commission and its rec- ommendations on magisterial inquiries was unwarranted in the context of the reform being con- templated now. A new method of appointing the Attorney General The Bonello Commission, which produced a voluminous report covering a multitude of issues concerning the justice system, had proposed the creation of a gener- al prosecutor's office. At the time, the prosecutorial function was part of the Attorney General's office, which also served as the govern- ment's counsel. The functions of the AG were subsequently split, with a new of- fice – the State Advocate – taking over the functions of state counsel, while the AG retaining the func- tion of prosecutions. One of the proposals of the Bonello Commission was to re- move inquiries from the remit of the judiciary so that they can focus on judicial matters and not investi- gations. Inquiries would fall under the remit of the AG. But crucially, the Bonello Com- mission also sought to guarantee the independence of the prosecu- tor (the AG) by proposing a new appointment method similar to that proposed for members of the judiciary. It was on Robert Abela's watch that the appointment of judges and magistrates was hived off com- pletely from the prime minister's hands as had been proposed by the Bonello Commission. But the significant reform was only limited to the appointment of members of 27 th January 2025 ANNOUNCEMENT OF A CALL FOR PROJECT PROPOSALS UNDER Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027 The Ministry responsible for European Funds announces the launch of a call for the following project proposals as indicated hereunder: • Intervention 73.1: On-Farm Non-Productive Investments (Afforestation) • Intervention 73.2 Off-Farm Non-Productive Investments (Afforestation) The call will close on 28 th March 2025 at noon. The application form for the submission of project proposals and supporting documentation can be downloaded on https://fondi.eu/what-funding-is-available/ and sent by email on rdsubmissions.opm- ees@gov.mt . Prospective applicants are encouraged to refer to the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan and the Guidance Notes to confirm whether their proposals are eligible for funding through these calls. Further information on these calls and on the Common Agricultural Policy Strategic Plan may be obtained from https://fondi.eu/. Any query should be sent by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. Information sessions are being organised for both calls as follows: • The Oaks Business Centre, Farsons Street, Hamrun (MA Office) on Thursday 6th February 2025 • Government Experimental Farm, Mgarr Road, Xewkija on Friday 7th February 2025 For further details kindly visit the website indicated above where all the call related documentation is available. or calling SEM on 2779 7300. Bonello Commission never proposed limiting citizens' right to request inquiries