Chamber of Advocates learnt of inquiry reform through the media

Chamber of Advocates left in the dark on government’s magisterial inquiry reform

The Chamber of Advocates has no visibility of government’s planned reform of magisterial inquiries, its president Peter Fenech has told MaltaToday. 

“We have not been consulted and we found out about government’s intention to go ahead with the reform through the media like anybody else,” Fenech said when contacted. 

The government has so far refrained from giving details of the Bill it intends to put forward to amend the provisions in the Criminal Code that regulate magisterial inquiries. Known in legal terminology as in genere inquiries, they are intended to preserve evidence of a suspected crime. The law as it stands today allows an ordinary citizen to request a magisterial inquiry. 

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard has put forward the First Reading of the Bill in parliament but the text proper of the amendments was not tabled. 

“We will await the publication of the Bill and give our reaction accordingly, if need be,” Fenech said.