Dismissal of soldier who mocked army gate was ‘fair and timely’, court rules

A soldier who was dismissed from the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) after a video of him mocking a newly installed gate went viral has had his claim for damages rejected by the civil court.

In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Mr Justice Francesco Depasquale ruled that the decision to dismiss Godwin Schembri was legal and justified, given that it was based on the soldier’s extensive history of disciplinary and criminal issues, and not on the viral video alone.

Schembri had taken the army to court claiming his dismissal was unfair and exaggerated, asking for the decision to be declared null and demanding compensation.

But the court concluded his former boss's decision "was fair and timely".

A gate and a funny video

The incident dates back to November 2018, when Schembri was filmed by a colleague while driving an army vehicle at the Pembroke ranges. In the video, Schembri sarcastically and jokingly criticised a gate which had just been installed, suggesting it was a waste of money because anyone could simply walk around it.

Schembri said the video was intended as a joke to make his colleagues laugh and that he only shared it within a private chat group. However, the footage was soon leaked to the public, appearing on YouTube and Facebook. Schembri reported the leak to the police, saying the video was being spread around without his awareness and consent. 

Initially, after admitting to charges of using foul language and dangerous driving, Schembri was sentenced to five extra guard duties and an official warning by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Edric Zahra.

However, two days later, he was summoned before the then-AFM commander, Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi, who fired him from the army.

That is when Schembri took his case to court, arguing his dismissal was "illegal" and "discriminatory". He claimed he was unlawfully punished twice for the same act and that his dismissal breached his fundamental rights.

He argued he was only joking to make his colleages laugh and never intended to harm the army or to spread the video publicly. He also argued that only he was fired, even though other colleages had spread the video around.

Repeated misconduct

But the court disagreed with Schembri’s interpretation. Evidence presented during the case showed that the then-brigadier Curmi’s decision was not a revision of the previous disciplinary sentence but a separate administrative action taken "in the interest of the service" - an action the army commander alone can take whenever they deem fit.

Curmi testified that the dismissal was based on Schembri’s entire military career, which included a considerable and varied record of military offenses, criminal convictions in court and three official warnings where he was told his job was at risk if his behaviour did not improve.

The court noted that while Schembri had good skills as a drill instructor and could do jobs assigned to him really well, he had shown a blatant disrespect for the sense of discipline that is the foundation of any military force.

"Curmi's decision was not based merely on the video incident, but on a series of behaviour and conduct issues throughout the soldier's AFM career," the judge concluded.

The judge noted that the dismissal was both "just and legal", falling squarely within the commander's legal prerogative to terminate a soldier when it is deemed in the best interest of the service.

He said it was "clear and glaring that, although the applicant was given a number of opportunities to take care of his conduct, he still did not learn and continued to make mistakes".

Consequently, the court turned down all of Schembri's requests for his dismissal to be declared null and for the payment of damages.