President George Vella’s long-awaited announcement of the start of the process to reform the Constitution of Malta was marred by the touchy reaction of Repubblika, a civil society movement. Its accusation that the President’s comments were “ill-informed, misleading, petulant and beneath the dignity of the highest office of the land” was totally uncalled for.
Arnold Cassola joined the fray a week later with the allegation – without evidence to back it – that the constitutional reform was a sham. This is the kind of posturing from Repubblika and Cassola, which the extremely challenging Constitutional Convention to come can well do without.
God save this country from any more conspiracy theories. Respect for the Office of the President under our Constitution is non-negotiable. We must begin this delicate process on the basis that President Vella is acting in good faith.
Repubblika’s submission of last March: ‘Reform of Malta’s Constitution: Recommendations on a Procedure for the Consideration and Approval of Amendments to the Constitution’ is a most useful document. It is well researched, clearly written and packed with sensible information as a basis for careful consideration by the President’s team.
I say “President’s team” advisedly, for it is not yet clear what supporting administrative and constitutional expertise is available to him. First class administration, organisation and incisive expert advice will be absolutely crucial to the success of this enterprise. They are the essential components of a successful Constitutional Convention.
The aim of this project is no less than a comprehensive examination of Malta’s 55-year-old Constitution. The President cannot do it using his existing Palace staff. He must be given the additional human and financial resources to undertake the task. It cannot be done on the cheap, using part-time resources or a total reliance on volunteers.
The President should have full-time, high-grade administrative support (including a senior civil servant as secretary general to act as the focal point), and paid, full-time expert advice. A deputy chairman should be nominated to take over when Constitutional issues affecting the Office of the President are being discussed.
Of equal importance, a plan for what happens once the consultation period is over must be formulated now, not in November. It is vital that the public has full confidence that the organisational underpinning of this national exercise is conducted efficiently, with clear targets and a road-map to meet them. Public education about the Constitution and the Convention should form an intrinsic part of the process.
In its submission, Repubblika made detailed proposals on how the consultative process should be handled, drawing on historic examples of how other nations have tackled similar or related challenges. They are well worth reading and should be placed on www.riformakostituzzjonali.gov.mt.
God save this country from any more conspiracy theories
Repubblika’s proposals are well-intended. But they are over-ambitious and ultimately, I believe, unworkable. They demand the kind of leadership, teamwork, breadth of talent, coordination and, above all, concerted voluntary commitment not readily found in Malta.
The watchword for an exercise as complex and politically charged as a review of the Constitution must be: ‘Keep it Simple’. Starting with the oversight bodies, the President has rightly already resolved – in the bluntest terms – that the major political parties should not be in a position to impose their decisions on the representatives of civil society.
Implicitly, this should mean that the existing steering committee of PN and PL parliamentarians will now be stood down and replaced by a non-party political membership of people of proven calibre capable of advising the President, as chairman and mediator, on the detailed preparation for the Constitutional Convention.
The steering committee (or, to borrow from Repubblika, the better-named ‘Reform Governance Group’) should consist of not more than 15 members, comprising trusted civil society representatives and a broad-based cross-section of legal, constitutional and academic experts. Their task will be to distil the outcome of the public consultation, produce an assessment of the state of the Constitution today and focus on the agenda and preparation of the Constitutional Convention.
As to the execution of the programme of work, a practical approach based on three inter-locking steps should be adopted. The first step will be to complete the process now under way of listening to civil society and established institutions.
In the second step, the submissions made over the next three months should be analysed. It is therefore most important to nominate immediately an ‘Experts Group’ (of not more than six) to sift the submissions made, but also to produce an assessment of the state of the Constitution today as the basis for future discussions at the Convention. The group’s focus must be on advising the Reform Governance Group on preparation for the Constitutional Convention.
The third step will entail the drafting of proposals for change by the Experts Group in conjunction with the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitution of the House of Representatives to be presented for consideration by the Constitutional Convention in the late-Spring of 2020. Their proposals should focus on key issues for resolution and offer alternative options for change for consideration and adjudication by the Convention.
It is essential to ensure that the Reform Governance Group, Experts Group and Parliamentary Select Committee do not work in silos, but maintain constant formal interaction and exchanges of views.
The Constitutional Convention will be the culmination of the reform process. In addition to the Reform Governance Group, Experts Group and Parliamentary Select Committee, the selection of attendance of delegates to the Convention will include as wide a representation of Maltese public bodies, institutions and civil society as possible. But it must not be so large as to be unmanageable (perhaps around 150 in total).
When summoned, the Convention will work to a clear schedule focussing on the specific areas brought forward by the Experts Group and Parliamentary Select Committee under the aegis of the Reform Governance Group. It will be mediated by the President and last several days ‒ ranged over a period of weeks ‒ allowing time for comprehensive discussion, debate and resolution.
Its outcome should lead to an agreed set of proposals which the Parliamentary Select Committee can take forward as a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution in accordance with its current provisions, including, where necessary, a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives.
A referendum is not needed and devoutly to be avoided.