Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1532977
4 NEWS 4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 MARCH 2025 MATTHEW FARRUGIA mfarrugia@mediatoday.com.mt THOMAS CILIA tcilia@mediatoday.com.mt AN appeals court has confirmed a decision by the data protec- tion appeals tribunal holding the Malta Financial Services Authority responsible for a data leak pertaining to a confidential regulatory decision it had taken. Lawyer Christian Ellul and ac- countant Karl Schranz had filed a complaint with the data pro- tection commissioner, alleging that the MFSA had leaked sensi- tive information regarding con- fidential decisions it had taken against them. They claimed that personal data and information regarding the decisions had been leaked to a journalist from the 'Offshore Alert' website before such infor- mation had even been published by the authority itself and com- municated to the persons con- cerned. Although the commissioner found no breach of the relevant regulation, an appeal was filed before the data protection ap- peals tribunal. At this juncture, the tribunal considered a report produced by a digital forensic expert which provided that the authority de- cision had been published on the 'Offshore Alert' before it was even communicated. It was concluded that this confidential data had been pub- lished by the website before be- ing officially published by the MFSA, when the latter was sup- posed to be responsible for this disclosure. Both the data protection com- missioner and the MFSA lodged an appeal. The commissioner argued that the tribunal decision should be overturned inasmuch as it had not abided by the pa- rameters of the original com- plaint. The MFSA, in its own appeal, agreed with the submissions raised by the Commissioner and emphasised upon various points including that there had been a manifest error in the conclusions of the expert. The authority said that the tribunal went beyond its sole administrative role. On 5 February, the court of ap- peal, presided over by Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff, rejected the arguments put forward by the commissioner and MFSA. It upheld that although the original article did not appear on the website given that it had seemingly been deleted or una- ble to be tracked, the expert was correct in investigating further, with these investigations ulti- mately leading to the original article and its publication date. The court also said it expected the expert analysis to be carried out by the commissioner him- self, rather than relying on dec- larations made by third parties. The tribunal decision was con- firmed in its entirety. A separate appeal lodged by the MFSA was declared time-barred and null. Ellul and Schranz were repre- sented by lawyers Jacob Daniel Portelli, Vincent Micallef and Stephanie Abela. MFSA responsible for data leak, appeals court confirms MFSA decision was published on a third-party website before it had been communicated to persons concerned The MFSA's head offices in Mriehel (File photo) MEP Alex Agius Saliba has called on the European Commission to reverse its decision to cancel a Maltese language course for em- ployees of EU institutions. In a letter addressed to Com- mission President Ursula von der Leyen, Agius Saliba expressed concern after being informed that the Maltese course would not be offered this year due to a low number of applicants. Only four employees had signed up for the course, prompting its cancella- tion. "It is unacceptable that the Mal- tese language is treated as sec- ond-class when it is an official language of the Union, equal to all other languages," the PL MEP wrote. He insisted that the Commission must ensure equal treatment of all EU official languages and urged for the immediate reinstatement of the course. Despite the low number of ap- plicants, Agius Saliba stressed that denying them access to the course would undermine the status of Maltese within the EU institu- tions. Agius Saliba's defence of the Maltese language in EU institu- tions is reminiscent of the now-fa- mous outburst of former Prime Minister and MEP Joseph Muscat, who had refused to address the European Parliament after he was told that there were no Maltese translators available on that day. The European Commission has yet to respond to Agius Saliba's request. Agius Saliba slams removal of Maltese language course for EU institution employees Maltese NGOs call on S&D Group President to reconsider support for inquiry reform Alex Agius Saliba A coalition of Maltese NGOs have called on S&D Group President Iratxe Garcia-Perez to reconsider her support for government's magisterial in- quiry reform. "If this Bill becomes law, it will make it even harder to investi- gate members of the government for corruption, favouritism, bad management, and other crimes," the NGOs said. The letter, signed by The Daph- ne Caruana Galizia Foundation, aditus foundation, Malta Office of Fondazione Falcone, Repub- blika, and Moviment Graffitti, comes after Labour MEP Alex Agius Saliba and the president of the S&D Group defended the government's reform in a letter to European Commission pres- ident Ursula von der Leyen last Thursday. The NGOs said they believed Bill 125 will not enact positive reform, but rather protect top government officials from inves- tigations into alleged corruption. They pointed out that the pro- posals fail to tackle some of Mal- ta's most pressing issues within its criminal justice system, such as, "criminal proceedings taking too long, prosecutions often fail- ing, and a low success rate when it comes to convicting people for serious crimes like violence, fraud, and corruption." The NGOs urged the S&D Group in the European Parlia- ment to be more proactive in the fight against corruption, calling on them "to be more intentional, conscious, and proactive in lead- ing the fight with positive initia- tives against corruption." In January, the government presented the bill which changes how citizens can request mag- isterial inquiries. The bill intro- duces a requirement for police pre-approval before a judge can consider a citizen's request for an inquiry, adding a six-month delay that critics argue could dis- courage individuals from report- ing wrongdoing.