[WATCH] Inquiry reform forces citizens to file police report first

Government unveils magisterial inquiry reform • Police report mandatory prerequisite to inquiry • Victims, relatives will have right to request update on progress • Suspects will have right to disclosure and presence of lawyer

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
Prime Minister Robert Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)
Inquiry reform forces citizens to file police report first

Individuals will no longer be able to ask for a magisterial inquiry by filing a direct request with a magistrate, according to a proposed government reform.

Under the proposed rules, ordinary citizens will have to file a police report first and only after six months can the person ask the Criminal Court to examine at what stage the police investigation has arrived. The judge presiding over the Criminal Court will hear the police behind closed doors, the person filing the request and the suspect.

At this stage, the Criminal Court will decide whether the police should continue with their investigation, with the possibility of giving them a term to conclude it, whether proceedings should stop, or order the police to request a magisterial inquiry as originally requested by the person who filed the report. The court will make its decision on the balance of probability.

The reform was unveiled on Thursday by Prime Minister Robert Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard. It follows parliament’s approval of the First Reading of the Bill on Wednesday. The Bill proper has not yet been published.

Citizen inquiry requests: Key Points

• Ordinary citizen cannot file inquiry request with duty magistrate

• Ordinary citizen will have to file police report first

• If after 6 months police have not concluded, citizen can file request with Criminal Court

• Judge at Criminal Court will hear police, person filing request and suspect

• Judge will decide whether police should continue investigating, whether investigation should stop, or whether a magisterial inquiry is warranted

• Persons filing inquiry request maliciously will be penalised and ordered to pay court expenses

• Suspects testifying in the inquiry will be accorded the right to disclosure and the right to have a lawyer present

• All types of inquiries have to conclude in six months, extendable to a maximum two years

If an inquiry does kick off and the magistrate concludes the request for an inquiry was filed abusively and maliciously, the person who made the request will be required to pay court expenses. Such a decision can be appealed.

The reform includes measures applicable to all types of magisterial inquiries, including those initiated after fatal accidents.

A magisterial inquiry will have to conclude within six months extendable to a maximum of two years. After two years, the magistrate will have to pass on the acts of the case to the Attorney General for further action. The AG can decide to request a continuation of the inquiry.

Victims of crime or relatives will have the right to request an update on the progress of a magisterial inquiry that concerns them after a lapse of six months. No such right exists today. They will also be given a copy of the magistrate’s report at no charge.

The reform will also ensure that a suspect called in to testify in the inquiry, whichever type it is, should be accorded the right to disclosure and have a lawyer present.

The reform also introduces changes to the manner by which court experts are nominated.

Any expense of €50,000 or more related to the experts a magistrate may want to appoint will first have to be cleared by the Chief Justice.

The reform will imply that any pending inquiry requests over which no decision has yet been taken as to whether an inquiry can proceed or not, will be transferred to the police once the changes become law.

Abela: 'Reform ensures system is not abused'

Prime Minister Robert Abela said the reform of magisterial inquiries was an electoral pledge and the changes were intended to ensure the different avenues of investigation available to citizens remain intact but are organised in a sequence that “introduces checks and balances”.

“Today, anyone can make an allegation and ask for a magisterial inquiry and this will be initiated on the basis of mere suspicion. Suspects are being unjustly left hanging not knowing what is happening and sometimes not even knowing they are the subjects of an inquiry,” Abela said, singling out lawyer Jason Azzopardi and accusing him of abusing the “broken system”.

“Over the past few months and weeks we have seen the system being abused because the person knew the system had its loopholes and intentionally used them to persecute innocent individuals and companies. We are responsablising the manner by which an inquiry can be requested and introducing the scrutiny of a judge,” Abela said.

Asked whether these reforms were intended to make Jason Azzopardi’s life more difficult, Abela insisted it does not if “he is a genuine person”. “The reform means that he now has to appear in front of a judge with a sworn declaration... he will have to be responsible and if he crucifies someone with a €2 million inquiry in an abusive way he will have to pay the €2 million court expenses.”

Abela insisted innocent people were charged after magisterial inquiries, singling out Chris Fearne, Edward Scicluna and former permanent secretaries involved in the Vitals case.

The decision to prosecute rests with the Attorney General and not the inquiring magistrate but Abela was dismissive when asked whether he was implying that the AG failed to do her job well.

“Your thesis is to allow the system to continue as it is with all its mistakes and then expect the AG to fix the outcome of a broken system. We want a perfect system throughout to safeguard innocent people and also ensure anybody who may be guilty does not have their rights trampled upon,” Abela said.

Asked whether he believed Joseph Muscat was also innocent, the Prime Minister said his predecessor had ended up as a subject in the Vitals inquiry despite not being one of the people identified in the original request.

Abela accused the Nationalist Party of being led by “an extremist wing” over its commitment to reverse the changes despite not knowing what they were. “This is populism,” he insisted.

“This is a complete reform of inquiries that introduces new rights for victims of crime and safeguards the rights of suspects, while ensuring the system is not abused in such a way that harms innocent people,” Abela said.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said consultation with people in legal circles did take place and said he would approach the upcoming parliamentary debate with an open mind for any genuine proposals that can improve the law.