Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech on Wednesday called on the government to withdraw the bill amending the Interpretation Act, saying the proposed amendment will take away the fundamental rights of the Maltese and Gozitans.
“The Nationalist Party will continue working to ensure that the rights of the Maltese and Gozitans are protected. We will not stand for such an amendment and call for the Bill to be scrapped immediately.”
Grech was speaking in Parliament during the debate on the Bill to amend the Interpretation Act.
The Nationalist Party called for the bill to be dropped after it was criticised by the Chamber of Advocates, constitutional experts, the dean of the Faculty of Law, former European Human Rights Court judge Giovanni Bonello, former attorney general and European Court judge Anthony Borg Barthet and former commissioner for laws and MP Franco Debono.
The proposed amendment will allow administrative fines issued by regulatory entities to be interpreted as criminal punishment. The government moved the bill after failing to obtain two-thirds majority for a direct amendment of the Constitution back in October.
“The government and the minister are now attempting to change the law without the need of a two-thirds majority but as an opposition, we will not allow this and will continue to call on (Justice) Minister Edward Zammit Lewis to scrap the bill,” said Grech.
He said that the government should not walk over the rights of the Maltese and Gozitans and insisted that the amendment is "unconstitutional" and "dangerous" for the country.
“The Nationalist Party is here to discuss and improve the law and we are happy to help with legal amendments,” he said.
Replying, Culture Minister José Herrera said court magistrates are loaded with serious cases related to murder, rape and money-laundering and the amendment will help reduce their burden.
He said that the amendment is linked to the Moneyval recommendations, highlighting that sanctions should not be delayed by judicial processes.
Herrera also pointed out that Malta never had any legal definition for a criminal offence.
He criticised the opposition for attacking the bill, claiming that it does not fully understand the judiciary processes.