Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera on Monday said she would abstain from an appeal filed with urgency by three ministers last week. 

Ministers Chris Cardona, Konrad Mizzi and Edward Scicluna want to overturn a magistrate's decision to hold an inquiry into their involvement into a privatisation deal for three state hospitals.

They filed the urgent appeal last week, just one day after Magistrate Doreen Clarke found that there were sufficient grounds for the trio to be investigated.

Judge Scerri Herrera is the sister of Environment Minister José Herrera. In previous submissions, the ministers have argued that the cabinet was collectively responsible for the privatisation deal. 

Second decision in four months

It was the second time in four months that a court has found there are grounds for the ministers to be part of an inquiry.

In July, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit had also upheld a request for an inquiry into the three politicians’ involvement in the hospitals transfer.

The three ministers had appealed that decision, and in October Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti revoked that decision, saying that the allegations stemmed mainly from newspaper reports, bloggers and “unidentified sources”. 

Following that setback, Repubblika – the NGO which had filed the initial request – went back to the drawing board and began a second legal bid to subject the ministers to an inquiry. The NGO said it had submitted new information to back its request. 

Last week, Magistrate Clarke upheld that request, with the ministers promptly filing an appeal against the decision.

What was the privatisation deal?

In 2015, Vitals Global Healthcare were given a 30-year concession to run St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo hospitals. The concession was eventually stretched to 99 years, with the company due to receive billions of euro in exchange for running the facilities. 

Vitals eventually sold its concession to US healthcare giants Steward Health Care in 2018.

The deal has been referred to the National Audit Office for investigation, but civil society group Repubblika has also taken the matter to the law courts, alleging criminal complicity by the three ministers and Ivan Vassallo, owner of a medical supplies firm, in the transfer of the hospitals.