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3 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2013 mentary standards commissioner ppointed by two-thirds majority ment, which would lead to the creation of new institutions which will oversee the upholding of standards by MPs. The select committee had set a 15 December deadline to table a final report and a motion which would lead to the appointment of a commissioner and permanent committee. Based on the Ombudsman model, the select committee agreed that the commissioner will be granted investigative powers. Investigations will be undertaken upon written complaints or on the commissioner's own initiative. The commissioner will be granted the authority to review declaration MPs and persons of trust appointed by ministers will fall under the remit of the commissioner of assets of MPs and will also have a consultative role, allowing MPs the opportunity to seek the commissioner's advice on whether their planned actions or events were in line with the code of ethics. Speaker Anglu Farrugia also explained that the commissioner will be able to investigate alleged breaches of the code of ethics "independently" while maintaining confidentiality. This would protect both the accused and the sources. However, once the commissioner concludes that enough evidence exists on a prima facie violation, the commissioner will put the case forward to the committee. The committee will then compile a report with its recommendations to the House of Parliament where the ultimate sanction will be decide. In the case of persons of trust appointed by ministers, the commissioner will have the authority to order sanctions, unless the person involved falls under the remit of the public service commission. The commissioner will also be able to forward cases to the police if the investigations lead to suspects of a criminal nature. However, the committee decided that the commissioner is duty-bound to inform the permanent committee about such matters. If no evidence is discovered on any alleged misbehavior, the commissioner will end investigations and inform the committee. Download the MaltaToday App Speaker Anglu Farrugia