[WATCH] Justice minister hints citizens will need to request police investigation before magisterial inquiry
On TVM's Xtra, justice minister Jonathan Attard defends the planned amendments and refutes the notion that they are a result of unsavoury revelations surrounding the present and past Labour governments

Justice minister Jonathan Attard has hinted that government’s plan to reform magisterial inquiries will require citizens to request a police investigation before resorting to the courts.
Attard was answering questions about the planned reform during Monday’s Xtra on TVM. Attard defended the planned amendments and refuted the notion that they are a result of unsavoury revelations surrounding the present and past Labour governments.
Meanwhile, PN secretary general Michael Piccinino retorted by stating that the amendments aren’t truly aimed at tackling abuse, noting that if an individual frivously requests a magisterial inquiry, this is already a crime.
Piccinino stressed that government’s intentions are not truly to address gaps in the current system. He stated that if it weren’t for magisterial inquiries into certain cases, the public would be oblivious to certain injustices due to police inaction.
When asked about the police’s lack of initiative to investigate certain cases such as the one involving 17 Black, Attard stressed that government has strengthened investigative bodies such as the Attorney General and police.
Here, the justice minister was asked to highlight some key points of the upcoming reform. Attard explained that citizens would still have the right to request magisterial inquiries, but the reform would move to restrict “forum shopping” and would ensure that citizens “wouldn’t bypass” the police.
When asked to react, Piccinino stated that the point of magisterial inquiries, like all investigations, is to collect and preserve evidence. He said that should citizens be forced to go to the police and find themselves facing inaction, time would be lost, and justice would be delayed, if not denied.
The justice minister underlined that the planned reform is needed to prevent abuse from people like Jason Azzopardi, as he referenced Azzopardi’s false statement about cabinet secretary Ryan Spagnol. He was however corrected by Piccinino, who stated that what the minister was speaking about was not subject to a magisterial inquiry, and could not be used as an example.