Editorial 04/08/2002

Rotten to the very top

The judiciary is in crisis and the public has lost faith in the courts. After 40 years of independence, we have our suspicions increased to an alltime high that the supposedly independent and autonomous judiciary is rotten at the very top. The Arrigo-Vella scandal confirms that our concerns were not in vain. Is this the tip of an iceberg?

It's not just the fact that many, not all, in the judiciary lead a life of decadence. One should not be too perplexed with the drinking sprees and reckless behaviour of some in the judiciary but their dazzling connections with the business world can no longer go unquestioned. This places many judges and magistrates in a tricky position. They constantly expose themselves to countless pressures and temptations from the bona fide and not so bona fide business world.

When we talk of judiciary with business interests, the government and opposition know what we are talking about. Both the Nationalist and Labourite administrations have picked iffy apples for the judiciary with full knowledge of their background.

In the last few years anyone working seriously in the news media would have assimilated material about the various magistrates and judges. And some have gone further than that, by pinpointing that there are those who have been the subject to fraud probes.

Whenever these issues were raised, the government and many of its top ministers would look the other way and say nothing.

The official government reaction to the Arrigo-Vella investigation became mandatory after the fiasco reaction in the George Grech farce. Government apologists worked day and night to cover that one up.

In revealing the extent of the Arrigo-Vella incident, the Prime Minister broke with tradition and so called ethics and effectively ‘convicted’ the judges before a firm confirmation of the facts.

If we had done the same there is no doubt in our mind that the accusations of character assassination, tabloid-stuff and vendetta would have dominated the reaction of those in government.

In less than a year, we have a Chief Justice and a Commissioner of Police biting the dust or close to.

This time, if it is proven that Arrigo and Vella are indeed corrupt, the public expect to see these men behind bars not, as was the case with George Grech, offered a parastatal parachute.

It appears that every Maltese and Gozitan have lost their faith in the institutions, be it parliament, the police, customs and the civil service. And this explains why we are such a corrupt and deceitful society.

The perception, is that ‘kullhadd jinxtara’, everybody has a price.

This incident will seal this perception for years to come.

That is, unless, the Prime Minister and his ministers choose to reform in a big way.

But this is unlikely. Given the general state of economy and a vote-catching period ahead of us, we are bound to see some patching up rather than head to toe surgery.

Years back in 1992, a jumpy, well meaning but naive group of young intellectuals under the umbrella of Alternattiva Demokratika called for some serious changes in the way the judiciary is appointed, structured and directed.

Partisan considerations from both sides of the Blue-Red divide brushed their proposals aside. Their arguments and vision are still very valid to this day.

Today we have confirmation of a fully blown institutional crisis.

We have to do something about it and the only people who can do this are the cabinet ministers.