OLAF immunity case still ongoing in court

This is a right of reply to the report carried in MaltaToday on Sunday (31 July), on the court decision on Giovanni Kessler, OLAF director general.

The 20 July decision of the President of the Court that you reported on refers only to a request made by the OLAF Director-General for interim measures to be applied by the Court, as a matter of urgency, until the Court reaches a final verdict on the substance of the case he has filed.

The Director-General had requested that through such interim measures, the Court temporarily and urgently suspends the application of the Commission decision lifting his immunity for an investigative act carried out in the course of his professional duties. On 20 July, the Court rejected only this application for interim measures, not the entire case.

The Court found that there was no urgency at stake at this moment in time. It did not rule on the validity of the arguments in law put forward by the Director-General. The case on substance is therefore on-going and will proceed as per the Court’s usual rules and timelines.

Alina Burea
OLAF