Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1535569
11 EDITORIAL maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 21 MAY 2025 JUSTICE Minister Jonathan Attard unveiled a package of constitutional amendments on Monday, which he said will strengthen standards and improve efficiency within the justice sector. The constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority in parliament to be approved. It shouldn't be hard to achieve the required threshold because most of the amendments are widely agreeable even though some may merit a deeper analysis. One of the welcome amendments is the introduc- tion of a standards commissioner for the judiciary, who would be tasked to investigate complaints against judges and magistrates behind closed doors. This new office will also have the power to examine, and if nec- essary, verify the declarations of income, assets and interests made by members of the judiciary. We can only hope that this new office will serve as a reference point for complaints ordinary people may have about the behaviour of some members of the ju- diciary. It is good that those who pass judgment on others are held accountable. They are expected to observe the highest level of ethical standards. The judiciary's independence must always be safeguarded but this al- so comes with an obligation to act responsibly, ethi- cally and transparently. When announcing the reforms, the justice minister said the changes should not be interpreted as a sign of distrust in the judiciary. In Attard's own words: "The vast majority of mem- bers of the judiciary uphold their constitutional oath with integrity. However, as in all institutions, isolated actions can undermine public trust. It is therefore es- sential not only to enshrine ethical standards in the Constitution but to establish robust mechanisms for their enforcement." The minister's statements are fine words indeed, which we can hardly find fault with. But there is more than a hint of irony in govern- ment's newfound zeal for ethical standards given its own poor track record. It is surreal that the minister is putting forward a constitutional amendment that would allow the new standards commissioner to scrutinise the declarations of assets of members of the judiciary when we have a prime minister who has been refusing to publish the declarations of assets of his own ministers. Standards Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi last week reiterated that the prime minister's refusal to publish the asset declarations for 2023 represents "a substantial step backward for transparency". The asset declarations for 2023 should have been published last year but the prime minister has insisted he us under no obligation to make them public, break- ing a long-held tradition for such declarations to be tabled in parliament. Unless the prime minister is playing a childish game to spite journalists who normally scrutinise these dec- larations, his actions suggest he, or his ministers, have something to hide. It is ironic that a government which gives short shrift to ethical standards should be the one to impose those standards on others. What is good for judges and magistrates, is not good for ministers, it seems. The situation is even more pitiful when one consid- ers that the prime minister has refused to apologise in a recent case investigated by the standards com- missioner. Despite being given the opportunity to apologise and close the matter without reference to the standards parliamentary committee, Robert Abela refused. And, in a separate case, when Abela was miffed by a probe requested by Momentum's Arnold Cassola, the prime minister threatened to change the law so that 'frivolous' complaints are stopped in their tracks. Ab- ela had accused Cassola of abusing the law, something the Standards Commissioner disagreed with. This show of disdain towards basic decency and eth- ical standards by the prime minister simply jars with government's noble intention of introducing a stand- ards commissioner for members of the judiciary. Abela and his administration should stop acting like autocrats, who are uncomfortable with scrutiny and accountability. They should lead by example before trying to impose ethical standards on others in the public domain. Ethical standards are good but only if they apply to others maltatoday MaltaToday, MediaToday Co. Ltd, Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 MANAGING EDITOR: SAVIOUR BALZAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR: KURT SANSONE EDITOR: PAUL COCKS Tel: (356) 21 382741-3, 21 382745-6 Website: www.maltatoday.com.mt E-mail: dailynews@mediatoday.com.mt green organisations are com- pletely blind to the incredible development that hunting in Malta has undergone in just a few decades, from an unsus- tainable hunt of virtually all species (which more or less was the case all over Europe) to a thoroughly regulated and more than sustainable hunt, where hunters also actively contrib- ute valuable input to nature conservation. The old enemy stereotypes perpetuate a point- less conflict that costs a lot of resources on both sides of the fence. These are resources that could be put to much better use in moving us further towards more and better nature in Eu- rope. I am confident that the ex- perience gained through the reform of hunting in Malta, combined with the specialist knowledge of Maltese hunters, could be used to make hunt- ing migratory game birds in Europe significantly more sus- tainable throughout the entire area where the birds migrate, including the Middle East and Africa. Hunting outside Eu- rope is, unfortunately, far from sustainable, and there is an urgent need to get this under control before it is too late. If the non-hunting section of Eu- rope's nature enthusiasts saw hunters as valuable allies rather than enemies, we could tackle the challenges facing wildlife and its habitats much more ef- fectively. But this will require all parties to respect each oth- er's passion, whether we un- derstand it or not. Ultimately, it is a question of priorities: What is most important—ef- fective nature conservation or maintaining an age-old conflict with people whose passion we do not understand? Also, the FKNK, is current- ly engaged in a large-scale re- introduction of barn owls in Malta. Due to the old enmities mentioned above, other green organisations are not assisting the organisation. I find this in- credibly regrettable. We must all be able to do better!