Retired judge Lino Farrugia Sacco dies at 72

Retired judge and chairman of the Lands Authority Lino Farrugia Sacco has died at the age of 72.

Farrugia Sacco's death was announced on Sunday by Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg under whose remit the Lands Authority falls.

Farrugia Sacco became a judge in 1997 and before that worked as a lawyer and then magistrate.

His appointment to the Lands Authority was controversial because it came three years after he was recommended for impeachment by the Commission for the Administration of Justice for breaching the judiciary's code of ethics.

The commission found the retired judge to be guilty of misbehaviour for ignoring its direction to step down from the post of president of the Maltese Olympic Committee.  

The two impeachment motions were filed in 2013 and 2014 - the first by then prime minister Lawrence Gonzi and the second by Joseph Muscat. Farrugia Sacco escaped impeachment since he reached retirement age before parliament could discuss the matter.

Farrugia Sacco's link to the sports world saw him occupy the post of president of the Malta Tennis Federation. He was also treasurer of the European Tennis Association and chairman of the men's committee of the association, and chairman of the evaluation commission for the Mediterranean Games 2021.