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3 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 JANUARY 2014 How Farrugia Sacco was found to have 'misbehaved' Judge to retire in seven months' time PAGE 1 The decision for Farrugia to de- member of parliament. Therefore, it is my said the motion of impeachment against clare the impeachment motion as no advice that the motion is dead," Prof. Re- Lino Farrugia Sacco could be considered longer valid comes in the wake of advice falo told Speaker Anglu Farrugia. 'dead'. from parliamentary lawyer and constituGonzi said that he would prefer not to The only option for the House would be tional expert Prof. Ian Refalo. to revive the motion, which however re- comment but he made reference to the On Monday, Farrugia Sacco's lawyers quires the tabling of a new motion. memorandum he drafted on 21 April referred to a 1992 impeachment motion 1996, when he himself was Speaker, in against Magistrate Carol Peralta. The 'Muscat made promise' which it was established that a motion of Opposition leader Simon Busuttil yes- impeachment could be carried over from motion, then presented by Wenzu Mintoff – as MP for Alternattiva Demokratika terday said he wants government to "keep one legislature to the other. – fell through when Mintoff was not re- to its word" and push for the impeachAt the time, the House Business Comelected MP. mittee had decided that Article 97 of the the motion for the imConstitution grants peachment of Judge the President of the Anton Depasquale, reRepublic the power to mained valid. But in that impeach a judge, after case, then prime ministhe parliament debates ter Eddie Fenech Adami the matter and takes a – who filed the motion vote, requiring two– was still leader of the thirds of the House. Opposition after in the A judge has to be aftermath of that year's found incapable of general election. carrying out his duties Recusal not accepted due to mental or physEver since the impeachical illness, or proven ment motion filed by misbehaviour. Gonzi was forwarded to Parliament can only the CAJ, Farrugia Sacco proceed on an imsought the recusal of two peachment on recmembers of the commisommendation of the sion: Chamber of AdvoCommission for the cates president Reuben Administration of JusBalzan, and judge emeritice. tus Victor Caruana CoThe law also contemMOC secretary-general Joe Cassar and Farrugia Sacco in a still from the lombo. plates that the MP who Sunday Times of London undercover video But the Court of Constipresented the motion tutional Appeal on Moncan attend meetings of day rejected his request, which means the Commission. In this case, Lawrence ment of Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco. "Joseph Muscat said, on more than one that in a new investigation by the CAJ, Gonzi had delegated his lawyer to attend meetings of the Commission. According occasion, that he will continue to sup- the same members would be kept on the to Refalo, this meant there were clear ties port the impeachment of Judge Farrugia commission to review his case. Farrugia Sacco had told the court that between the motion and the member pre- Sacco," Busuttil said. "I can only hope that the Prime Minis- he was in no doubt that Gonzi's decisenting the motion. While Standing Orders demand that ter will keep to his word, and not hide be- sion to start the impeachment process the MP who presented the motion, or an- hind any technicalities," he said, adding was politically loaded, and requested the other substitute, is present in the House that it was the prime minister's political recusal of Caruana Colombo because he when the motion is debated, it was the responsibility to follow through with the was Gonzi's appointee to the commission; while lawyer Reuben Balzan was depractice of the British House of Repre- impeachment. Earlier in the day, former prime minis- scribed as having "a close affiliation" with sentatives that once parliament dissolves, ter Lawrence Gonzi declined to comment PN leader Simon Busuttil. all motions are nullified. "In [Farrugia Sacco's] case, not only on a statement from the Speaker of the Additional reporting by did parliament dissolve after the motion House during the House Business Comwas presented but [Gonzi] is no longer a mittee meeting on Monday, in which he Tim Attard Montalto Prime Minister presents new impeachment motion New impeachment motion against judge Lino Farrugia Sacco tabled. MIRIAM DALLI PRIME Minister Joseph Muscat has presented a new impeachment motion against judge Lino Farrugia Sacco after Speaker Anglu Farrugia ruled the original motion as "dead". The motion was presented late in the evening. The presentation of the motion means that the Commission for the administration of justice has to start fresh investigations. In a statement, the Office of the Prime Minister said Muscat has retained his pledge. In parliament when the commission presented its report, government and opposition agreed that they would steam ahead with the motion. In this case, it meant filing a new motion. The Commission for the Administration of Justice found Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco to have acted incorrectly in retaining his post as president of the Malta Olympic Committee, in breach of the judiciary's code of ethics. In its decision, the CAJ, which regulates the judiciary, said the impeachment motion filed by prime minister Lawrence Gonzi had been proved. Farrugia Sacco had been informed in writing back in February 2006 to answer to the fact that his MOC presidency was incompatible with his role as judge due to a breach of the judiciary's code of ethics. He was also reminded to resign his post in several communications from the CAJ throughout 2006. In 2007, he was formally told by the CAJ that his conflict was in breach of the judiciary's code of ethics. The Commission took note of the fact that as MOC president, in 2012 Farrugia Sacco held a meeting with two undercover reporters from the Sunday Times of London posing as ticket resellers, during which a method of bypassing Winter Olympic ticket resale rules was discussed. "It does not result that the judge was involved in the illicit trade of Olympics tickets. But the allegations and the publicity they received, was the direct result of his refusal to align himself with this commission's directive in 2007. This harmed the respect and honour that the judiciary should aspire to, and undermined the public's trust in its operations, and breached the Code of Ethics." But the CAJ said it had accepted Farrugia Sacco's version that the undercover video had been "edited in a misleading manner," even though the two reporters were not asked to testify in the CAJ proceedings. The case, which emerged in The Sunday Times of London, saw undercover reporters offer a €60,000 fee for rights to sell the MOC's tickets for the Sochi winter games. Farrugia Sacco and MOC general secretary Joe Cassar were covertly recorded by the reporters, posing as envoys of a Middle Eastern ticket tout, and heard explaining how high mark-ups for the tickets could be "camouflaged" through "subtle" marketing techniques. Farrugia Sacco denied any wrongdoing, and sued The Times, which reported the Sunday Times of London's report, for defamation. In court, he presented a statement from the International Olympic Committee's director-general, Christophe De Kepper, saying an investigation by the IOC's ethics commission "did not have the intention to impair or otherwise harm the reputation and honour" of the MOC president. No sanctions or reprimand were imposed by the IOC on Farrugia Sacco, but the IOC ethics commission said that Farrugia Sacco had "allowed the journalists to prove their point" in a discussion on the authorised ticket reselling for the Sochi games. MOC secretary-general Joe Cassar was declared to have "helped to prove the point being made by the journalists, namely that the sports world and those who work with it are prepared to violate the rules" and that as a result "tarnished" the reputation of the Olympic Movement.