Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/444527
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 JANUARY 2015 4 News Rules on judges' recusal 'traditionally not very strict' CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Bonnici said that every person, even members of the judiciary, had the right to choose the legal assistance they deem fit. But he also said any situation which can prejudice the right to a fair trial may be challenged by a party having an interest. While nothing at law prohibits a lawyer from appearing in front of a magistrate or judge when at the same time that lawyer gives legal services to that same magistrate or judge, Bonnici pointed out another Constitutional principle which must be respected. "Effectively any situation which can prejudice the right to a fair trial may be challenged by a party having an interest. Therefore, if we have to take this case as an example, even if in or- dinary law there would be no duty for the judge or magistrate to abstain in a given situation, any situation which can prejudice the right to a fair trial may be challenged by a party having an interest." Bonnici conceded that in view of the size of the country's legal profession, Malta's rules on the duty of judges and magistrates to abstain have tradition- ally not been very strict although they were amended over time. "The introduction of a general duty on a judge or magistrate to abstain from hearing a case when the situa- tion is such as could infer an appear- ance of bias is one of the matters being considered in the context of judicial reform although, as stated above, the right to a fair trial is already safe- guarded on a Constitutional, on a quasi-Constitutional level, including through the European Convention on Human Rights." Although facing proceedings in the Commission for the Administration of Justice over his Christmas party in a court of law, no impeachment mo- tion for Dr Peralta's removal has been presented. Without an impeachment motion, the most the Commission can do is is- sue a warning. Chinese Leisure case Peralta is currently hearing the case brought by the police against Leisure Clothing director Bin Han, accused of human trafficking after the Chinese national withheld the passports of Vi- etnamese employees, and paid them sub-standard rates for long shifts in the textile factory. Peralta recently carried out an in- spection visit at the Hal Far dormitory where Chinese employees of the fac- tory are housed, having announced the visit a week in advance in court. The compilation of evidence against Bin Han has been on-going since 2 December 2014. So far, Peralta has not declared the existence of a "prima facie" case to place Han and co-de- fendant Jian Liu under a bill of indict- ment, in spite of several marathon ses- sions of witness testimony, lasting up to seven hours. The magistrate has however how- ever declared in court that he is "con- vinced that the police investigation was conducted diligently and conclu- sively." Patrick Spiteri objecting to four European arrest warrants SAVIOUR BALZAN THE disbarred lawyer Patrick Spiteri has been presented with another four European Arrest Warrants (EAWs) – three by Mag- istrate Tonio Micallef Trigona and the fourth by Magistrate Carol Peralta – as he faces repeated calls to be brought to justice in Malta over fraud allegations. Spiteri, who lives in the UK, has faced a spate of court cases relat- ing to defrauding clients whom he served as a tax advisor. Last Wednesday he was presented with the four other EAWs, bringing the total of arrest warrants to seven. Spiteri, 50, is certified to be suf- fering from multiple sclerosis and has presented medical certificates stating that he is seriously sick and unable to travel. Last Wednesday the British court deliberated over the seven arrest warrants and put off the case from 17 February to 23 April, 2015. Contacted by MaltaToday, Spi- teri insisted that he had done his best to be present for court cases in Malta. He has denied keeping his Farnborough address in the UK a secret, after he was arrested there by Surrey police after being alerted to his whereabouts by The Sunday Times. "It is untrue that the Maltese po- lice did not know where I lived. My address in the UK is on the numer- ous medical certificates that have been sent to the Maltese courts. In fact the British police received the warrants without an address." Spiteri, the architect of the infa- mous CET that the 1996 Labour administration used to replace Value Added Tax, is insisting that the medical consultants who con- firmed his multiple sclerosis were contacted by the Maltese police to verify that he had not tampered with his medical certificates. "I objected to the extradition re- quest and I gave four reasons for this. The first is health, the second was the passage of time, the third was the right to a fair trial and the fourth were extraneous circum- stances caused by media reports and [former MEP] Tom Spencer – the stepfather of my partner." Asked why he had evaded the police, Spiteri angrily rebutted the claims: "I never evaded the police. They knew exactly where I lived. They only executed the notice of the arrest warrant. And it is not true that I was hiding, that is a lie." Spiteri claimed he will be taking legal steps in a British court against The Times and his partner's step- father Tom Spencer, whom he suspects of having assisted the newspaper in locating him. "I am no ex-Mossad agent, as stated by Spencer." He is even denying having been had any chats on dating website match.com, where he appeared as 'Patrick Borgia', and which were used by The Times to track him down. "I deny categorically that I had any chats… I will be seeking all legal remedies against the per- son who hacked me and made this up." Spiteri has claimed he has no problem facing the courts in Mal- ta, but says his medical condition is serious. "One case has been postponed sine die and other cases have been deferred over and over again because the witnesses that have been called are based abroad and have not turned up. I have been unable to travel since Decem- ber 2013." The 50-year-old former tax law guru has been living permanently in the UK since January 2014 in a €4 million country estate set over 15 acres of land, evading the Mal- tese courts where he is facing eight cases linked to fraud and misap- propriation charges exceeding €10 million. He formerly lived in Malta with his partner Lorna Maltby and their two children. After his arrest by UK police in November, Spiteri appeared be- fore the Westminster Magistrate's Court in London where he was granted bail against a security de- posit of €90,000 and a strict 11am- 4am curfew. "I never evaded the police. They knew exactly where I lived. They only executed the notice of arrest warrant" – Patrick Spiteri Patrick Spiteri Carol Peralta