Government clears way for judicial standards constitutional reform

The government’s legislative plan to amend the constitution and introduce a standards commissioner for the judiciary via a simple parliamentary majority received the Speaker’s green light on Wednesday afternoon.

Speaker Anglu Farrugia said changes to parliamentary procedure to have separate votes on separate clauses of a bill are within the rules of Parliament and constitutionally valid.

The government’s motion to change procedure would apply to bills in which different clauses require separate majorities to be adopted.

It comes after the Nationalist Party opposed the government’s proposals to amend the constitution, which features amendments the government says are necessary to modernise and streamline the administration of justice.

These include the appointment of a standards commissioner for the judiciary and giving judges the option of staying on for a further two years after the current retirement age of 68.

The government argues that while some constitutional amendments need a two-thirds parliamentary majority—which would require the PN’s support—some only need a simple majority.

With the proposed changes, the clauses that meet the required majority will be taken to the president and eventually become law, while those that do not will not be included in the approved bill.

Setting up a standards commissioner for the judiciary is among those constitutional changes that can be adopted if more than half of Parliament agrees, the government argues.

If introduced, the commissioner will be tasked with hearing and investigating complaints made against judges and magistrates, similar to the role played by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, who scrutinises MPs' conduct.

Currently, members of the public can file complaints either with the justice minister or the chief justice, who may then forward the complaint to the Commission for the Administration of Justice - a secretive body that does not make its work public.

Parliament is debating the procedural changes on Wednesday and will vote on them at a later date.

During the debate, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said the changes would help protect the constitution because the appropriate majority would apply to different clauses in the constitution.

Attard’s shadow, Karol Aquilina said the Nationalist Party was against the motion of procedure as it is in breach of the provisions of the Constitution.

He added that the PN’s calls to discuss a holistic constitutional reform have been "arrogantly" ignored by the Government. Aquilina invited the government to immediately enter intensive talks with the Opposition to agree on changes to the Constitution within the summer.