Moviment Graffitti has lashed out at plans to revise the current system of magisterial inquiries, saying Robert Abela has “hammered another nail into democracy’s coffin”.
“The courts are one of the last independent institutions left. By making access to the courts dependent on the police, the bill is a threat to liberty and accountability,” the NGO said in a statement.
Abela’s government this week unveiled a wide-ranging reform of the existing system, with changes proposed to the way in which inquiries are appointed and carried out.
Among other things, the plan would require citizens seeking an inquiry to have filed a police report about the alleged crimes first. A court will only be able to launch a probe six months after that.
The reform also proposes raising the standard of evidence required for an inquiry to be carried out. Only evidence admissible in court will suffice, it proposes – effectively making it impossible to request an inquiry based solely on media reports.
Currently, citizens can freely ask the courts to appoint an inquiry into alleged wrongdoing. A magistrate then assesses that request, with their final decision subject to appeal.
The government has said it wants to reform the system to “end abuse”. Abela first announced the reform in an angry social media post reacting to former PN MP Jason Azzopardi, who filed a flurry of requests for such inquiries last year.
In some cases, the courts upheld Azzopardi’s requests and ordered inquiries. In others, they dismissed the claims.
Graffitti said the current system worked and there was no justification for changing it.
“The weaponisation of magisterial inquiries by citizens - calumny - is already a crime,” it said. “Under the proposed law, citizens will need to submit the kind of evidence used in court - a very high bar that is almost impossible to pass for regular people, effectively hindering the public's ability to request inquiries.”
It described the plans to require people to first wait for the police to investigate allegations as “a death sentence for justice”.
“This is a police force that, when it comes to crime at the very highest levels, is best characterised by inaction and outright collusion,” it said.
“By weakening this vital instrument that has exposed the dark corruption at the heart of the web between political and economic power, Robert Abela is hammering another nail into the coffin of Malta's democracy.”