Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/537300
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 5 JULY 2015 News 7 ella Blackman, is vice-president of River of Love. Repeated attempts by MaltaToday to contact Blackman were not suc- cessful. In his accountant's report, Emanuel Fenech wrote that the financial statements were based solely on the "documentation presented and on representations made by Nations for Christ". He also admitted that he was not always provided with supporting evi- dence to back up the representations and that he did not seek to verify their accuracy. In the report's final paragraph, he said that he doesn't as- sume any responsibility for the truth- fulness of the financial statement. Although Cilia insisted that River of Love have submitted their finances to their accountant for the past three years, the Commission for Volun- tary Organisations have not received their financial statements for the past three years, effectively putting the organization in default. NGO Commissioner Prof. Kenneth Wain explained that this means that River of Love is not eligible for gov- ernment and EU funding or other government or EU schemes. They are still allowed to broadcast adverts for donations though. Wain admitted that several other NGOs are in River of Love's default state, but that there is not much ac- tion he can take against them as of yet. "If I want to take action against a defaulting NGO, I must first ask the Industrial Tribunal for permission, after which the NGO will be given the right to appeal," Wain said. "The whole process is long, cumbersome, expensive and inefficient." However, he said that discussion is ongoing on a White Paper that will allow the Commissioner to take di- rect court action against non-com- pliant NGOs. "As soon as this law passes, I will come down hard on all these organi- sations," he pledged. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt ity" but for "reasons of influence". Bonello had headed a Justice Reform Commission which sug- gested in a 2013 report that judges be nominated by the Commission for the Administration of Justice – a body composed of the President, the Chief Justice, the President of the Chamber of Advocates, two elected judges, two elected magis- trates, a member appointed by the Prime Minister, and a member ap- pointed by the Opposition leader. "We made it very clear that the political system of appointing the judiciary is untenable, inherently subject to abuse and likely to lead to disappointing or abhorrent re- sults," Bonello said. The Bonello report was largely based on proposals included in a private member's bill by current Law Commissioner Franco Debo- no that had been shelved by the previous administration. "The separation of executive and judiciary powers is crucial in a de- mocracy," Debono told MaltaTo- day. "Indeed, one of the main func- tions of the judiciary is to act as a system of checks and balances over the government. However, current judicial appointments depend ex- clusively on the good grace of the justice minister." He argued that this system could create a sense of obligation by members of the judiciary to the government, which could be dam- aging for this separation of pow- ers. Justice Minister Owen Bon- nici has pledged to give "proper consideration" to the 450 recom- mendations of the Bonello report in drawing up a Bill on judicial re- form. However, he warned that a shifting of powers to the Commis- sion for the Administration of Jus- tice would not be a magic bullet. "Seeking the Commission's ad- vice before making judicial ap- pointments is something worth considering, although one cannot be over optimistic that this will eliminate skepticism about judi- cial appointments," Bonnici said. "Judges have in general always be- haved independently, irrespective of who appointed them, and his- tory has proved that quite clearly." However, recent judicial appoint- ments have certainly raised a few eyebrows. Following the appoint- ment as magistrates of former Labour international secretary Joe Mifsud and former Labour mayor Monica Vella, the Chamber of Ad- vocates expressed concern that the Bonello recommendations were disregarded. "Inadequate regard to important institutional recommendations aimed at enhancing credibility in the judicial system continues to undermine public confidence in the current judicial system," the Chamber said. Unsurprisingly, a lot of criticism of late has come from the Opposi- tion benches. "Not even [former Prime Minis- ter] Dom Mintoff had made such partisan and divisive appointments to the Bench," shadow justice min- ister Jason Azzopardi lamented. "Do you honestly believe that someone coming from the PN and who is having his case heard by some of these manifestly partisan appointees to the Bench will be- lieve that justice will be seen to be done in his case? "Do you honestly believe that a lawyer hailing from the PN can serenely appear before a Judge and believe that his client will get a fair hearing, when that Judge was un- til a few months ago writing ruth- lessly disparaging and excoriating criticism, even on a personal level, against PN MPs? "In order for the Labour Party to exert control over the justice sec- tor, instead of implementing the Bonello recommendations, the government has rushed to appoint some individuals to the Bench on whom it may discreetly lean on when push comes to shove in the future." e in such a flawed system' of salary church 5th Floor, Valletta Buildings, South Street, Valletta Warner Complex, Victory Street, Qormi 116A, Tower Road, Sliema OPPORTUNITY IS EVERYWHERE LIVE US QUOTES | HTML5 CHARTING LOCAL & INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENTS IN A SINGLE PLATFORM 10 FREE TRADES FOR ACCOUNTS OPENED UNTIL 31/7/15** $9.99* PER TRADE NOW FROM *FOR 15 OR MORE TRADES PER MONTH ON US MARKETS. VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS. **TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY. CALAMATTA CUSCHIERI & CO. LTD IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE MALTA STOCK EXCHANGE AND IS LICENSED BY THE MFSA. 25 688 688 CC.COM.MT