Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/405994
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2014 News 4 Holmes files Constitutional appeal against 'unusually harsh' sentence MATTHEW AGIUS IN a Constitutional Appeal filed against the Attorney General, the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the Gozo courts, Daniel Alexander Holmes, has re- quested the highest court in the land to amend parts of a decision by the Civil Court in its Constitu- tional jurisdiction, which held that the Attorney General's discretion before which court his case would be heard, had exposed him to ar- bitrary punishment but not given him a remedy. Holmes was arrested in June 2006, following a search in his Gozo apartment that resulted in the recovery of one kilogram of dried cannabis leaves and a small amount of cannabis resin. Holmes admitted to five charges of drug possession, cultivation and trafficking in November 2011 and was handed a 10-year sentence and a fine of €23,000. Holmes admit- ted to all charges ahead of a trial by jury but insisted that the drugs were for his personal use. Yesterday's appeal, signed by lawyer Franco Debono, used a re- cent amendment to the law which allows an accused person to chal- lenge the discretion of the Attor- ney General to decide whether a case is to be heard by the criminal court – with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment – or a magis- trate's court, with a maximum sen- tence of 10 years. The appeal claims that the Attor- ney General's sole discretion to de- cide whether a case is to be heard by a Magistrate or whether a Bill of Indictment is to be filed before the criminal court is in violation of the Constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights. "The Attorney General's power to make a binding judgment of a qua- si-judicial nature before the start of the process, not on the basis of law, but based on [his] subjective, un- fettered, discretion – a discretion which also binds the court, in itself deprives the accused of the right to be heard by an impartial and inde- pendent tribunal," it reads. In his appeal, Holmes insists that the Gozitan legal aid lawyer who represented him in the ini- tial stages was not specialised in criminal law. He argues that, in effect, the system did not ensure adequate legal assistance, in viola- tion of his constitutional right to what is known as "secure protec- tion of law", which is also part of European law. Furthermore, it states that Holm- es was denied access to his lawyer during interrogation and had no access to his case file, in violation of his fundamental human rights, as enshrined in the Constitution and European law. The appeal asserts that the pun- ishment meted out to Holmes was "illegal, abusive and dispropor- tionate" and therefore in violation of the European Convention. Quoting from a judgement of the European Court, it said "a dif- ference of treatment is discrimi- natory if it has no objective and reasonable justification" and lists 20 Maltese cases with reference to cultivation of comparable amounts of cannabis, where the punishment awarded varied from 6 to 18 years' imprisonment. Archbishop's palace garden should be open to public – Valletta mayor Positive parenting policy for Malta launched for consultation MIRIAM DALLI THE Ministry for Family and So- cial Solidarity has launched a draft of the positive parenting policy for public consultation. Addressing a news conference, Family Minister Michael Farrugia said the policy will be launched for consultation among parents, chil- dren and professionals. "The policy emphasises a posi- tive approach to parenting, argu- ing against the use of physical and mental force against children. Our ministry wants to be of support in the upbringing of children," Farru- gia said. "Such an approach is considered to be both cost-effective as well as of major support to parents as they face today's challenges." Positive parenting refers to behav- iours that are carried out by parents or guardians who prioritise chil- dren's best interests, helping them grow in an environment that is free from violence and that is conducive to their healthy development while providing all the necessary support and guidance. The policy depends on more spe- cialised training being offered to professional staff working with chil- dren and families. With a number of services already offered to parents-to-be and post- natal services, the ministry will also be seeking the intervention of NGOs to help reach out families in the community that are hard to reach. The policy is interministerial, which means that a number of min- istries have to come together for its successful implementation. It tar- gets the strengthening of support services at the family courts, the setting up of a children's forum and courses for parents, grandparents and guardians. Professor Angela Abela, head of Family Studies at the University of Malta, said that today's challenges call for more support to parents. The latest HSBC survey carried out in 2009 among 40 participating countries presented some alarming findings, where Maltese children between 11 and 15 ranked 37th in terms of their relative ease to con- fide in the mother and last in all three age brackets with regard to confiding in their father. With the increase in labour force participation, the importance of child care has evidently been on the increase. Despite a gradual increase in child care settings, Maltese moth- ers appear to still prefer to leave their children with relatives, such as grandparents, rather than send- ing them to child care. According to childcare figures, it was indicated that childcare by grandparents, oth- er relatives, friends or neighbours averaged 17 hours weekly. In spite of the services offered by the country, there is no basic in- frastructure that facilitates and or- ganises the operation of the diverse services offered in Malta. According to the National Commission, all the services work independently of each other, lacking co-ordination of serv- ices and resulting in fragmentation. One of the ministry's pledges is to ensure that services are brought together under one governing body, at the same time coordinating the synergy among respective minis- tries and departments. JAMES DEBONO ACCESS to the garden of the Archbishop's palace should be granted to the public to serve as a green lung for the city. "It can become the much need lungs of the city… a green respite close to the City Centre," mayor Alexiei Dingli told MaltaToday. He also proposes replacing the garden's walls with grates. Dingli was asked for his views on a call by submissions issued by MEPA to change the zoning of Strait Street and the old civil abat- toir in Valletta to encourage the rehabilitation and revitalization of this "unique site and quarter of Valletta", in line with the Govern- ment's Vision 2018 for Valletta. According to Dingli both ar- eas should focus on culture and creativity while obviously respect- ing "the residents who live in the neighbourhood". But Dingli insists that two adja- cent sites should also be included in the plan, namely the Archbish- op's Palace gardens and the Sally Port. Apart from opening the gardens to the public Dingli proposes a trail leading all the way down into the Jew's Sally Port towards the sea, integrating within it the ar- eas known as the Cable, the Fossa, the area behind St Elmo and taht is-sur. "The upgrading of the real Val- letta waterfront should create an incredible venue both for Valletta residents and visitors especially during the summer months." According to Dingli the old civil abattoir and Strait Street would serve as an ideal place to organise cultural events, especially in ven- ues such as the Splendid (a cultur- al venue) in Strait Street and in the others which exist in the area. "I think these should offer a space where creative people can mingle with other people and where they can fuel their creativ- ity in order to nurture an environ- ment which pumps ideas back into the regeneration of the City and Malta at large." This partial review will require revisions to the current land allo- cations for Strait Street and the old civil abattoir as a "Secondary Retail Frontage" and "Housing Improve- ment Action Area" in the Grand Harbour Local Plan of 2002. Built in the 1600s, the old slaugh- terhouse right behind the Auberge de Baviere was transformed into a residential area only a few years later. The building was later turned into a naval bakery as evidenced by the soot on the surviving three capping stones of four chimneys. The present buildings consist of two rows of rooms on two lev- els with 10 doorways. The upper rooms have an open terrace in front of them overlooking Triq San Karlu and Triq il-Gendus re- spectively. The terraces were ac- cessible from Triq San Kristofru through an arched doorway and a short flight of stairs. Mepa scheduled the old slaugh- terhouse as a Grade 1 national monument in 2008. PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD Daniel Holmes Alexiei Dingli Michael Farrugia