Prime Minister says magisterial inquiries reform is based on 2018 Venice Commission recommendation

Speaking on ONE TV, the Prime Minister also spoke of 'innocent people' who ended up with 'unjust charges against them,' naming Joseph Rapa and Alfred Camilleri as examples

Prime Minister Robert Abela (Photo: Facebook)
Prime Minister Robert Abela (Photo: Facebook)

Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the controversial amendment that would change the process behind magisterial inquiries is partly coming from a recommendation made by the Venice Commission in 2018.

The commission is an advisory body composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law. The part of the report Abela was referencing had suggested that magisterial inquiries be absorbed into what we now know as the Attorney General (AG).

The report states, “An independent Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) with security of tenure should be established, who takes over prosecuting powers and the corresponding staff from the Attorney General, and the Police. Magisterial inquests should be absorbed into this function. The decisions of this DPP, notably not to prosecute, should be subject to judicial review.”

The DPP refers to what is now the AG, as this entity did not exist when the report was written.

The reform has been controversial given its timing, as Abela himself had hinted at the need to reform magisterial inquiries after Jason Azzopardi had requested a number of investigations into ministers and public officials. No information on what the reform entails is yet available.

Abela had even told MaltaToday that, he would not let anyone “attack” his ministers earlier this week.

On ONE TV, the Prime Minister further spoke of “innocent people” who ended up with “unjust charges against them” because of a faulty legal framework.

“I’m not talking about those who must answer for something. I’m talking about the many innocent people,” Abela said, as he referred to Alfred Camilleri and Joseph Rapa. Both are currently accused in connection to their alleged role in the fraudulent Vitals deal, a case which is still ongoing.

Abela also spoke of a recent court ruling that suggested investigations into leaks of a magisterial inquiry, namely the Pilatus Bank inquiry that had ordered criminal action be taken against the identified individuals in 2021. 

Speaking about Repubblika, the NGO that had requested criminal action against the bank’s officials, Abela once again described it as “an extremist faction within the PN.”

He also called on the police commissioner to investigate how Jason Azzopardi had “illegally” obtained a copy of the magisterial inquiry into the death of an employee at WasteServ. “It’s crucial that he (the police commissioner) finds the source of the leak.”

Without naming names, Abela said, “Within the corridors of court and politics, it is already known who the source of the leak is, but the commissioner has the tools to establish the source. We might have unpleasant surprises on who the source is. That’s why we have to let institutions work.”