Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/587664
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2015 News 9 N.F. v. Italy (2001) and Maestri v. Italy (2004) An Italian judge who became a freemason in 1991, he left in 1992 upon hearing of inquiries by state prosecutors into the activities of the Grande Oriente d'Italia di Palazzo Giustiniani. In June 1994 disciplinary proceedings were brought against him in connec- tion with his masonic links and he was reprimanded for having undermined the prestige of the ju- diciary. His appeal to the Court of Cassation was dismissed. The ECHR said that the terms of a 1990 directive were not suffi- ciently clear for him to realise that a magistrate joining a masonic lodge could face disciplinary ac- tion. Since the sanction was not "foreseeable" or "prescribed by law" it found a violation of Article 11 – the freedom of association. He was awarded €24,000 in dam- ages and legal expenses. In the Maestri case, the presi- dent of the La Spezia District Court was also reprimanded in disciplinary proceedings for hav- ing been a freemason. He com- plained of having had his right to freedom of thought, expression and association (Articles 9, 10, and 11) breached; but the ECHR considered only the claim under article 11 and found a violation, because – as in N.F. – the national regulation on which the discipli- nary measure was based did not have a basis in domestic law and failed to satisfy the conditions of accessibility and foreseeabil- ity. The wording of the directive prescribing the sanction was not sufficiently clear and foreseeable to enable the applicant, to realise that his membership of a Masonic lodge could lead to sanctions be- ing imposed on him. Grande Orient d'Italia v. Italy (2007) The ECHR found a breach of Article 14 (prohibition of discrim- ination) in conjunction with Ar- ticle 11 (freedom of association) because the Marche region en- acted a law requiring candidates to public offices for the regional gov- ernment, to declare whether they were freemasons. The absence of a declaration was grounds for refus- ing appointment. The ECHR said that since freemasonry was singled out – there might be other secret sects that run counter to the rules of democracy – there as no objec- tive and reasonable justification for this difference in treatment. However this judgement in- cludes two important principles: that under Article 11, prohibit- ing freemasons from public of- fices may not be "necessary in a democratic society"; but that this could be justifiable when pursuing the legitimate aim of protecting national security and preventing disorder. from being freemasons Judges: can they be freemasons? #NNCRRNKECVKQPUYKNNDGCEMPQYNGFIGFCPFVTGCVGFKPVJGUVTKEVGUVEQPHKFGPEG+PVGTGUVGFRGTUQPUCTGTGSWGUVGFVQUWDOKVCPQPNKPGCRRNKECVKQPD[NQIIKPIQPVQ YYYMQPPGMVEQOD[5WPFC[VJ1EVQDGT%CPFKFCVGUYKUJKPIVQUGPFVJGKT%8D[RQUVCTGTGSWGUVGFVQCFFTGUUKVVQ#NGZKC(CN\QPSWQVKPIVJGTGNGXCPVPWODGT CDQXG 2.#06'0)+0''4 /6 #U #UC2NCPVGPIKPGGT[QWPGGFVQCEJKGXGQRVKOCNWVKNKUCVKQPQH DQVJVJGRNCPVCPFKVUOCEJKPGT[CPFVCMGECTGDQVJQHVJG UWRGTXKUKQPCUYGNNCUVJGKORTQXGOGPVQHVJGRNCPV;QWYKNN DG EQPFWEVKPI KPURGEVKQPU GPUWTKPI VJCV RTQRGT OCKPVGPCPEGKUFQPGCFFTGUUKPIHCWNVHKPFKPICUYGNNCU OCMKPIUWTGVJCVCNNRTQEGFWTGUCTGCFJGTGFVQ6JGTQNGCNUQ GPVCKNUVTCKPKPIRGTUQPPGNCPFCUUKUVKPIKPVJGRTGRCTCVKQPQH DWUKPGUU DWUKPGUU RNCPU TGRQTVU CPF DWFIGVU ;QW YKNN CNUQ DG FGXGNQRKPIRTQRQUCNUHQTVJGKORTQXGOGPVQHDQVJVJGRNCPV CPFVJGEQORCP[ÐUUGTXKEGU 6JGKFGCNECPFKFCVGOWUVJCXGC&GITGGKP'PIKPGGTKPIQT GSWKXCNGPVCUYGNNCU[GCTUÐ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ÝOKNNKQPKUEWTTGPVN[UGGMKPIVQ TGETWKVHQTVJGHQNNQYKPITQNGU The European Court of Human Rights has delivered three judgements related to individuals who claimed discrimination against them for being masons. office in the past fell through. The first one was proposed by former Alternattiva Demokratika MP Wenzu Mintoff in 1990, asking for the removal from office of Peralta as well as another magistrate on grounds of misbehaviour. Peralta was then magistrate at the Gozo Court and was essential in grant- ing ownership rights overnight to a dubious land title owner of the Sant' Antnin Battery in Qala, who could then sell it to his fellow mag- istrate. The impeachment motion how- ever fell through, as there was still no legal procedure to investigate magistrates. In December 1994, prime minis- ter Eddie Fenech Adami presented another impeachment motion against Peralta. At that time the newly established Commission for the Administration of Justice had refused Fenech Adami's motion, saying there were no grounds for the impeachment motion to be debated in parliament. In fact, the reasons behind the motion were never made public officially al- though they are known to revolve around an alleged abusive relation- ship with an Asian woman. Peralta returned to service in the Maltese courts in 2012 after having served eight years in war crimes tribunals as part of the UN mis- sion in Kosovo, having left Malta in 2003 with 283 pending magisterial inquiries. Freemasonry in Malta The Lodge of St John and St Paul, which first met in Hope Tavern on South Street, Valletta, continues to this day as the oldest masonic lodge in Malta. Freemasons to- talled 1,484 by 1914 across seven lodges – some of them still persist- ing to this day. In Malta there are lodges working under the Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta (SGLOM), the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the United Grand Lodge of England. Altogeth- er there are some 400 members. The St John and St Paul, and the De Rohan Lodge (1998) work un- der the UGLE. After the departure of the British colonial forces, further lodges were created: the Count Roger of Nor- mandy (1988), the Fenici Lodge (1991), and the De Rohan Lodge (1998). In 2004, the 'Irish lodges' – the Leinster (1851), Abercorn (1899) and Fenici (1999) – resolved to join a Sovereign Grand Lodge of Malta, with the Abercorn remaining a subordinate lodge. After the creation of the SGLM, several subordinate lodges were created: the Hospitaliers (2004), Ars Discendi (2005), Flos Mundi (2005), White Sea (2010), Mare Nostrvm (2011), Utopia (2013), and the Spartaco Mennini (2013) commemorating one of Italy's more known freemasons.