Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/509499
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 MAY 2015 12 News FORMER home affairs minister Manuel Mallia has denied consid- ering in his then official capacity the request of his Romanian wife Elena Codruta for Maltese citizen- ship, at the time that he was the minister responsible for the sector. Elena Codruta Mallia, who would have become automatically a Mal- tese citizen after five years of mar- riage to a Maltese national, is be- lieved to have obtained her Maltese nationality some time between her marriage to Mallia in 2012, and 2014. This prompted PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami to allege that the minister's decision to grant his wife citizenship after a mere two years of marriage was a breach of the law and an abuse of power. But in a statement issued on Monday evening, Mallia said his wife applied for citizenship by nat- uralization under article 10(1) of the Citizenship Act and not on the strength of her marriage to him. Anyone granted citizenship under this provision needs the approval of the minister responsible for citi- zenship, who in this case was Mal- lia himself. Foreigners can submit an appli- cation under this provision if they have been residing in Malta for five years prior to the date of applica- tion. "My wife satisfied this condition," Mallia said, adding that his wife had already been resident for 10 years prior to her application and that she had three children, Mal- tese citizens, at the time. Controversy centres around whether Mallia used his discretion as minister responsible for citizen- ship to grant or refuse such applica- tions, which in general tend to take as long as 15 to 20 years to process in order to test the permanence of applicants seeking naturalisation. Mallia claims that citizenship un- der such a provision is mainly con- sidered under policy guidelines. He pointed out that during the previous legislature it was the es- tablished policy that requests, by persons who have been residing in Malta for a period of 10 years and who have children, who are citi- zens of Malta, even if such persons are not married, would be consid- ered favourably – obviously if such persons are of good conduct and there are no issues that go against the public interest. He claims that the current gov- ernment retained the policy and that several foreigners have been granted citizenship on the basis of these criteria, both in the previous legislature and under the present government. Irrespective of whether Mallia was following established proto- col, the case involving the award of citizenship to the minister's wife inevitably raises questions on the minister's discretionary powers. A report issued by the European Union Democracy Observatory (EUDO) in 2013 had described discretionary powers of a minister as "avenues of potential abuse and conflicts of interest". The Maltese Citizenship Act gives the minister responsible for home affairs non-reviewable dis- cretionary powers to decide on who is granted citizenship by natu- ralisation. "As I have indicated in several publications, this lack of transpar- ency provides an avenue for abuse and possible conflicts of interest. Malta needs a fair and transparent system of naturalisation in order to dispel the possibility of any such allegations," Daniela De Bono, a senior lecturer in International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) at the Department of Glo- bal Political Studies at Malmo Uni- versity told MaltaToday. Speaking in his personal capac- ity, as the issue has yet not been discussed in the party, opposition MP Jason Azzopardi also thinks that this part of the law should be reviewed. "We should also abide by the principle that the less discretionary power in the hands of those apply- ing the law, the better things are," Azzopardi said. "This is because human nature is what it is and the less discretion there is the less avenue there is for abuse… we should never forget that everyone may err and there- fore it is better to err on the side of caution." But Azzopardi also points out that ministerial discretion is still limited by the current law. "This is limited by the fact that under article 10 the applicant or his spouse must have rendered ex- ceptional service to the republic or to humanity to be awarded citizen- ship." How to earn citizenship Only 2,401 persons acquired citi- zenship through naturalisation be- tween 1991 and 2013. The Maltese Citizenship Act lays out general requirements that ap- plicants need to meet to be eligible for citizenship by naturalisation: being of "good character" and be- ing deemed by the minister as "a suitable citizen" are among the re- quirements. One must have also resided in Malta for the 12 months imme- diately before submitting the ap- plication for citizenship and have previously resided in Malta for periods amounting to four years in the previous six years. In certain "special circumstances" the minister may allow periods of residence earlier than seven years before the date of application. Persons applying for naturalisa- tion also need two sponsors, one of whom must be either an MP, or a judge, magistrate, parish priest, doctor, lawyer, notary public or an officer in the army, civil service or the police. These requirements are described as "broad and vague" in the EUDO report and each case is handled on its own merits without any stand- ardised system, like language tests. In 2013 Joe A. Mizzi, director of the Department of Citizenship and Expatriate Affairs, told MaltaTo- day that the minister's discretion is "narrowed down" by cabinet policy guidelines, which are published in a leaflet on naturalisation, and oth- er internal policies which limit the minister's discretion. In fact the information leaflet goes further than the Citizenship Act by stating that naturalisation "will only be given favourable con- sideration if there are humanitar- ian aspects involved", such as hav- ing children in Malta. De Bono points out that citizen- ship acquisition through naturali- sation is intended for those indi- viduals who have no blood ties to Maltese society, such as through marriage with a Maltese citizen, or descendants of Maltese citizens. "It is also not meant for individu- als who apply for Maltese citizen- ship through the Individual Inves- Mallia allegations spark debate Following the recent controversy surrounding the award of Maltese citizenship to the wife of former Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia, James Debono asks whether it is time to do away with the discretionary power given to the responsible minister in awarding citizenship Irrespective of whether Mallia was following established protocol, the case involving the award of citizenship to the minister's wife inevitably raises questions on the minister's discretionary powers PASSAPORT UNJONU EWROPEA MALTA "We should also abide by the principle that the less discretionary power in the hands of those applying the law, the better things are" - Jason Azzopardi