Standards watchdog should be able to investigate mayors, councillors for ethical breaches

Mayors, local councillors and members of government boards should fall under the purview of the Standards Commissioner, the OECD is suggesting in a review of Malta’s legal framework.

The Paris-based international policy-making forum said the Maltese Standards Act needs to be broadened to cover all elected officials, including at local government level. It also proposes extending the scope of the law to members of government boards because there is currently no entity responsible for ensuring their adherence to ethical standards.

Current legislation empowers the Standards Commissioner to investigate claims of ethical breaches by MPs, ministers, parliamentary secretaries, parliamentary assistants and persons of trust.

The OECD recommendation to extend the coverage of ethical standards is one of several proposals found in a report released today. The OECD was tasked with carrying out a review of existing legislation and coming up with recommendations for improving the Maltese integrity framework.

Key proposals

• Standards Act should apply also to mayors, local councillors and government board members
• Clearer definitions of persons of trust and misconduct
• Standards Commissioner should be able to investigate former MPs 
• Standards Commissioner should receive constitutional protection
• Include lay people in parliament’s Standards Committee
• Former judge elected by two-thirds majority should chair Standards Committee

Former MPs should not be excluded from investigations

The OECD is also suggesting that the Constitution should bar elected officials from occupying other positions in the public service while in office. It also calls for a better definition of persons of trust and misconduct, and suggests the inclusion of definitions in the law for ‘abuse of power and privileges’, ‘conflict of interest’ and ‘gifts’.

The current limitation that prevents former MPs from being investigated and sanctioned for misconduct during their term in office, should also be removed.

The OECD is recommending that the office of the Standards Commissioner be included in the Constitution. Although the commissioner is currently chosen by a two-thirds majority in parliament, the office is not entrenched in the Constitution and the Standards Act can be removed with a simple parliamentary majority.

But the OECD is also proposing an anti-deadlock mechanism when political parties cannot agree on a name for the post. It proposes that the buck should shift to the Judicial Appointments Committee, a constitutional body, which could make a binding recommendation to the President of Malta for the appointment of a commissioner. The Judicial Appointments Committee’s recommendation could be either on a temporary or permanent basis.

The OECD is also suggesting changes to the law that will allow anonymous complaints to be made and empower the Standards Commissioner to grant whistle-blowers status to potential informants.

As for sanctions applied to people found guilty of breaching ethics, the OECD is suggesting a “comprehensive and proportionate system of sanctions under the Standards Act with a wide range of possible sanctions or remedies based on the severity of the breach and a clear statement of how and in what circumstances the committee would expect to impose them”.

Including lay persons in parliament's Standards Committee

A more radical proposal is the suggestion to include lay members in the parliamentary Standards Committee empowered at law to act on reports made by the Standards Commissioner.

The current committee is chaired by the Speaker and includes two members each from the Opposition and government, often leading to deadlock.

The OECD says the inclusion of lay people alongside MPs could be implemented progressively, starting with the introduction of two lay members (to four MPs) and increasing it to four lay members (to four MPs) in the medium term.

A further enhancement would be the replacement of the Speaker as chair with a former judge, elected by the votes of not less than two-thirds of the House. The chair should maintain their current powers - they shall not have an original vote but a casting vote in cases of equality of votes.

The full OECD report can be accessed here.

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