[WATCH] Democratic Party wants constitutional reform to take a bottom-up approach

Godfrey Farrugia speaks on constitutional reform

Constitutional reform should aim to keep those aspects of the Constitution that withstood the test of time and update others to reflect Malta's vibrant society, Democratic Party leader Godfrey Farrugia said.

The PD wants a reformed Constitution to champion the common good and equality, while strengthening all aspects linked to good governance, Farrugia said on Monday.

He was addressing a press conference at Parliament with PD deputy leader Timothy Alden after it became known last week that the President was chairing a constitutional reform steering committee made up of Labour and Nationalist representatives.

The Office of the President told MaltaToday that the committee was, at this stage, conducting preliminary talks on how to proceed with updating the Constitution.

READ ALSO: PL-PN steering committee ‘merely conducting an initial dialogue’ on constitutional reform

Although the committee is made up solely of PL and PN representatives, the President has met delegations from the PD and Alternattiva Demokratika.

Farrugia told journalists today that the PD would participate in the process, which should adopt a bottom-up approach. The Constitution belongs to the people, he said.

The PD is calling for a constitutional convention made up of some 150 representatives coming from various groups that represent society. It wants citizens to participate through the formation of working groups. The convention should be set up and given a mandate by Parliament with a two-thirds majority.

The party also wants any changes to the Constitution to be finally approved through a referendum.

Asked whether there was a particular matter the PD would like to see changed in the Constitution, Farrugia said he would like to have the constitutional court enjoy supremacy by enabling it to strike off laws deemed to be anti-constitutional. At present, any law deemed unconstitutional by the courts still has to be amended by Parliament.