Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/897139
maltatoday SUNDAY 5 NOVEMBER 2017 6 News Who is the Attorney General? His name is Peter Grech and he was appointed to the post in September 2010 by then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi. He has served in the attorney general's office since 1983, having been promoted to assistant to the At- torney General in 1994 and Depu- ty Attorney General in 2005. Does the Prime Minister appoint the AG? The AG is a person of the Prime Minister's choosing. However, formally, it is the President acting on the Prime Minister's advice who appoints the AG. Can anybody be appointed? No. The Constitution lays down parameters that dictate the quali- fications a person must satisfy to be appointed AG and these are equivalent to those for the ap- pointment of judges. The Con- stitution lays down that to be appointed a judge, the individual must have practised as a lawyer in Malta, or served as a magistrate, for not less than 12 years. What is the role of the Attorney General? The Attorney General is a con- stitutional role. The AG has three basic functions: he has the power to institute, undertake and dis- continue criminal proceedings; he advises the government on legal matters and represents the interests of the State in judicial proceedings; he also helps draft laws and agreements. The AG also chairs the board of gover- nors of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, a role that landed him at the centre of political con- troversy. How is the AG involved in criminal prosecutions? Isn't this the job of the police? The AG is not a criminal inves- tigator. It is the police that inves- tigate crime and charge people in court. In ordinary criminal proceedings it is the police that prosecute. However, the police also seek the AG's advice and in criminal cases of a serious nature, such as murders, it is the AG's of- fice that leads the prosecution in court. Does the government tell the AG what to do? The Constitution protects the AG's independence by saying that he "shall not be subject to the di- rection or control of any other person or authority". However, you will hear differing opinions on whether in practice the AG has always acted independently of the government of the day. Politicians in government always contend they do not interfere in the AG's work, while those in Op- position claim otherwise. But isn't there a contradiction between the AG's role as criminal prosecutor and his duty to advise the government and act as its lawyer? Yes, and various legal observ- ers have called for change in this regard. In 2011, MP Franco Debono, then a backbencher of the Nationalist government had presented a private members' mo- tion on judicial and police reform, which included a "revision and redefinition of powers" entrusted to the AG. Debono had argued, among other things, for an in- dependent prosecution office to do away with the conflicting role played by the AG, but his initia- tive got stalled in Parliament. In 2013, the Bonello Commis- sion set up by the Justice Minister to propose wide-ranging reforms, had proposed the creation of a prosecutor general's office to ad- dress the matter. No changes have been made to the AG's roles and the Opposition has now joined the chorus of criticism on the matter. The Opposition has asked for Peter Grech's removal. Why? The Opposition argues there has been gradual erosion in the rule of law over the past four years with government undermining institu- tions like the police through the appointment of cronies at their helm. While Grech is not a La- bour government appointee, he has faced flak over what the Op- position says is his reluctance to prosecute cases of alleged money laundering by people close to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. In the wake of Daphne Caruana Galizia's murder, a key demand of the Opposition has been Grech's removal or resignation. The AG is accused of being part of the climate of impunity, which the Opposition says led to the jour- nalist's murder. The resignation demand has also been taken up the Civil Society Network that has organised two mass demon- In the eye of the storm Explainer Malta's Attorney General The Nationalist Party has called for the removal of Attorney General Peter Grech to be replaced with someone who is approved by a two- thirds parliamentary majority. KURT SANSONE tries to understand how the AG ended up at the centre of political controversy