Robert Abela has accused "an extremist faction of the Nationalist Party" of attacking the courts because they did not rule in its favour.
The Prime Minister was reacting to a statement by former Repubblika president Robert Aquilina, in which he slammed Magistrate Nadine Sant Lia for ordering the police to investigate how an inquiry into Pilatus Bank ended up in his hands.
The magistrate also rejected the civil society group's request for police commissioner Angelo Gafa to take criminal action against Pilatus Bank's top officials, ruling there was insufficient evidence for prosecution. Aquilina called the move "a perversion of justice."
Expressing solidarity with the magistrate, Abela said such attacks on the judiciary were not acceptable in a democratic society.
"Shame on the extremist faction of the Nationalist Party, which was exposed by the courts for illegally abusing the judicial process, and is now attacking the courts," Abela wrote in a social media post.
"They are nothing but extremists who want the courts to rule in their favour, and if they don't, they proceed to attack them. They are not after justice but persecution," he continued, promising to protect the courts and police from such "intimidation".
In her ruling, Sant Lia said it was “shocking” that Aquilina was allowed to see the inquiry when he did not have permission to do so, as it meant that a public official had exposed a highly sensitive document in a private setting.
Repubblika had previously sought to have Sant Lia removed from hearing the nolle prosequi case after they deemed her familial ties to lawyer Pawlu Lia to be a conflict of interest.
After she refused, the NGO filed a constitutional lawsuit claiming that its fundamental right to a fair hearing would be breached if the magistrate were to continue to hear the case.
Another court had upheld Repubblika’s request, suspending the challenge proceedings and ordering their reassignment to a different magistrate. But the state advocate successfully appealed that decision.
'Robert Abela knows all about attacks on judiciary' - PN
In a statement reacting to Abela's post, the Nationalist Party said the Prime Minister knows very well what an attack on the judiciary entails.
"It is an attack on the justice system when someone tries to prevent magistrates and judges from fulfilling their duties. It is an attack on justice when someone tries to stop citizens from requesting an inquiry," the PN said.
"It undermines institutions when someone attempts to discredit the results of a magisterial inquiry. The only person who has spent months attacking the judiciary is Robert Abela. Robert Abela is a hypocrite. He tries to shift his blame onto others" PN said.
The new dispute comes two days after Justice Minister Jonathan Attard tabled a highly controversial motion to amend the criminal code and reform the way people can request a magisterial inquiry.