Simon Busuttil’s description of the State Advocate Bill as “anti-European” had been labelled by Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt as “a step too far,” according to Justice Minister Owen Bonnici.
Speaking in parliament, Dr Bonnici said Omtzigt was critical of Dr Busuttil's remark in comments during which he described the bill as an important but insufficient step forward.
Dr Bonnici stood by the State Advocate Bill as he concluded the second reading debate on the bill.
The Opposition has criticised the bill, arguing that while it purported to separate the roles of the attorney general to prosecute and to serve as the government's legal counsel, the persons to both posts would still be appointed by the prime minister.
Dr Bonnici observed that Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt, a member of the Council of Europe Committee on Human Rights and Legal Affairs who had compiled a report on the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia and the state of the rule of law in Malta, objected to what he called the lack of judicial review of the actions of the Attorney General.
But it appeared that Dr Omtzigt had relied on comments in the media by Prof. Kevin Aquilina, Dean of Laws at the University of Malta.
Dr Bonnici said that he had been advised that the extant “challenge proceedings” procedure - which provide that the police can be taken to court for failing to take action against an accused sufficed as judicial review. This procedure was well known to all practising lawyers.
The existence of such a recourse also served to counter Opposition Leader Adrian Delia’s criticism that the Attorney General had the exclusive power to initiate prosecution. Furthermore, Dr Bonnici added, the Attorney General lacked the power to prosecute whatsoever in terms of the existing law.
Dr Bonnici also took Dr Delia to task for criticising the excessive power given to the Attorney General. He pointed out that the Venice Commission and the Opposition alike had criticised the excessive power given to the Prime Minister, not to the Attorney Genera. Steps were being taken to address this criticism by requiring a public call and selection board composed of experts to be involved in the appointment of the state advocate. The Bill would also reduce the powers available to the Attorney General by hiving off his current civil functions.
Furthermore, Dr Delia was in the same breath proposing to give the Attorney General even more power by urging the government to implement a Venice Commission recommendation to assign magisterial inquiries to the Office of the Attorney General.
The present system worked, Dr Bonnici said, and further study was necessary in order to determine whether such a change was warranted and could be implemented.
Referring to remarks by Opposition MP Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici, Dr Bonnici reiterated that very few jurisdictions in the free world selected their Attorney General - where the latter was also the director of public prosecutions - with a two-thirds majority of Parliament.
He could not understand how Dr Mifsud Bonnici had almost encouraged the government to move such legislation while Opposition MPs Simon Busuttil and Karol Aquilina had portrayed the Bill as a “step back.” Dr Busuttil seemed to be part of the “hara-kiri party,” said Dr Bonnici. He was against everything and everyone.
Dr Bonnici said that he was proud of the level of the debate in general, adding that the Bill had the support of Cabinet and of the Labour Parliamentary Group after being discussed by both in detail. However, he said that the government could not introduce all of the changes recommended by the Venice Commission at one go, in order to avoid shocks to Malta’s legal system.
Instead, changes would be introduced where necessary after the law currently before the House came into force and started to function. There would be no “omnibus Bill” which would turn the Constitution on its head.
Referring to criticism of the fact that the Attorney General would continue to serve as head of the Financial Investigation and Audit Unit, Dr Bonnici said that the practice of appointing the Attorney General to this position had been started when the Unit was established by a Nationalist administration. The appointment of Attorney General Silvio Camilleri to this role had been followed by the appointment of Dr Peter Grech. However, the government did not object to reviewing this arrangement once Dr Grech’s term reached its conclusion.