A controversial Bill which limits the people's right to request the holding of magisterial inquiries was approved by parliament on Wednesday and the NGO Repubblika immediately declared it would challenge it in court.

The Bill was approved by 37 votes in favour and 30 against. The Opposition voted against.

"The government has robbed us of the right to seek justice. It has done so to protect those who have something to hide," the president of NGO Repubblika, Vicky-Ann Cremona said, as she announced proceedings before the Constitutional Court.

Addressing a protest by Repubblika outside the parliament building, Cremona said this was an 'infamous' bill which the government had pushed through parliament despite the objections of the constituted bodies and civil society. 

She said Repubblika viewed the legislation as breaching the constitution and it would therefore challenge it in court and seek its repeal. 

She insisted that the NGO would not be silenced and would continue to battle until the people's rights were restored.  

Pots and pans

During the protest, many of those present banged on pots and pans, blew whistles and shouted slogans against the government, particularly as ministers walked in or out of parliament.  They also carried placards reading 'Mafia' "A Cabinet of criminal accomplices" and "The police commissioner sleeps in the face of corruption." 

Some of those taking part in the Valletta protest.

The reform of magisterial inquiries was announced in December. Ordinary people will henceforth no longer be able to directly request a magistrate to hold an inquiry but will first have to approach the police.

If the police do not act, they can then take their case to a judge, who will decide if an investigation is merited. But those making the request for an inquiry need to present evidence to a much high degree than before.  

Abuse of power

The protest was also addressed by former Repubblika president Robert Aquilina who said parliament's approval of legislation limiting magisterial inquiries was an abuse of power by the government.

A protest placard in Valletta.

This, he said, came in the wake of the government taking control of the country's institutions, including the police and the Attorney General's Office.

There was no doubt, Aquilina said, that the government was removing the people's right to seek magisterial inquiries because of the various scandals uncovered over the past 12 years, notably the 'theft' of three state hospitals under Joseph Muscat's watch. Media had subsequently revealed that Muscat had received funds from people involved in the hospitals contract, ostensibly for consultancy services.

The removal of the people's right to seek magisterial inquiries was an obscene attack on democracy but the fight for justice would continue, Aquilina said. 

Enthusiastic members of the crowd shout their protests. (Chris Sant Fournier)

Opposition stays away from vote on censure motion

Earlier on Wednesday, in parliament, the Opposition walked out of the House and did not take part in a vote on a government motion censuring Opposition MP Karol Aquilina over comments he made about the Speaker last month. The Opposition had also walked out of the Chamber when the debate on the motion was held.

Opposition leader Bernard Grech said the government's motion was an attack on the Opposition and the people it represented.