A court is to continue hearing constitutional proceedings filed by the three alleged suspects behind the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia who are claiming that their arrest and searches had breached their rights.

This was the outcome of a partial judgment delivered on Thursday morning in a case instituted by brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio together with Vincent Muscat, against the Attorney General, whereby they are seeking redress for an alleged breach of fundamental rights.

Their claim stemmed from the time when they were arrested and their properties searched after being targeted as suspects in the murder of the journalist who was killed in a car bomb outside her Bidnija home on October 16, 2017.

While the compilation of evidence continues in their regard before the Magistrates’ Court, the three men have filed this joint application claiming that they were only shown a copy of their arrest warrant some 36 hours after their arrest.

Moreover, they claimed that they had not been told the reasons for their arrest, had not been shown the search warrant, had not been present when the searches took place and that persons who were not police officers had assisted in the searches and seizure of the evidence.

The three murder suspects.

Though contesting the validity of their arrest upon their arraignment in December 2017, the Magistrates’ Court had declared the arrest valid upon hearing prosecuting Inspector Keith Arnaud explain that the suspects had been informed that they were under arrest and that they were arraigned within the 48 hour legal time-frame.

The inspector had testified that there had been a single warrant that authorised the arrest and search of the accused, with a copy being presented to them at a late stage of the arrest. All three had been given their rights and had been informed of the reasons for their arrest.

The Attorney General had raised a preliminary plea arguing that the applicants had failed to exhaust ordinary remedies before filing the constitutional case, a plea which was rejected by the First Hall, Civil Court, presided over by Madam Justice Lorraine Schembri Orland, when delivering a decision on this point on Thursday.

The applicants’ lawyer, William Cuschieri, had argued that their ordinary remedy had been employed at the first hearing before the Magistrates’ Court when their challenge of the validity of the arrest had been dismissed.

Although that the objection did not have a favourable outcome, it did not detract from the efficacy and effectiveness of that same ordinary remedy, said the court.

The Caruana Galizia family, as parties joint in the suit, had argued that if the Court were to exercise its jurisdiction in this case, it would be usurping the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts.

However, the Court citing a 1995 judgment in Philip Spiteri vs Sammy Meilaq in which it was declared that when the subject of a case was complex in nature, giving rise to both ordinary and constitutional remedies, the constitutional remedy was to prevail.

At this preliminary stage, Madam Justice Schembri Orland declared that since the courts of ordinary jurisdiction could not offer an effective remedy, the respondents’ plea was to be rejected, thereby meaning that the court would proceed with the hearing of the case.

Lawyer Victoria Buttigieg appeared on behalf of the AG. Lawyer William Cuschieri is appearing for the applicants.  Lawyer Jason Azzopardi and Eve Borg Costanzi are appearing for the Caruana Galizia family, represented by Dr Peter Caruana Galizia.