Lawyers protest over secret recording of meetings with their clients in prison

The Chamber of Advocates has filed a judicial protest against the prime minister and government officials over surveillance, monitoring, and recording of privileged communications between lawyers and their clients at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

The Chamber said that on June 4, it received a complaint indicating that in January 2021, the then minister of home affairs signed a warrant allegedly authorising the use of listening devices in prison visitors' rooms, used by inmates to meet both family members and legal representatives.

The Chamber said the State Advocate had failed to address the serious concerns raised and did not provide any explanation that could justify what it described as 'a fundamental breach of legal professional privilege between lawyers and their clients.'

The Chamber specifically referred to conversations that were allegedly monitored and recorded by a state institution.

It said it had since also become aware of additional facts through sworn testimony given by a former prison director. According to the testimony, there was, or may still be, an organised and abusive system operating within the prison’s visitation rooms.

The system allegedly intercepted conversations without making any distinction between meetings involving inmates and their lawyers and meetings involving inmates and other visitors.

In its protest, the Chamber of Advocates stressed that legal professional privilege is one of the fundamental pillars of the administration of justice and the rule of law. This is indispensable for the exercise of the right to defence, the right to legal assistance, and the right to a fair hearing.

It pointed out that confidentiality of communications between lawyers and their clients is protected under both the Constitution of Malta and the European Convention on Human Rights.

Therefore, the authorisation of interception and recording of privileged communications seriously undermined these constitutional safeguards and damaged public trust in the administration of justice.

The issue, the Chamber said, went beyond potential individual criminal responsibility and raised serious concerns regarding the integrity of criminal proceedings that may have been affected by such interceptions over a substantial period.

As a result, the Chamber of Advocates formally protested against any past or present surveillance, monitoring, or recording of privileged communications that may have taken place. It called for the immediate preservation of all registrations, recordings, and any other material relevant to the matter.

It has demanded immediate confirmation that no interception or surveillance systems were currently taking place.

It also called for measures to ensure that such institutionalised violation of fundamental rights by the State did not continue to occur.

The protest was also filed against the Minister for Home Affairs, Glenn Bedingfield, the Minister for Research and Innovation Clifton Grima, the Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Security, the Permanent Secretary for Justice, Research and Innovation, the head of Malta’s Security Service and the State Advocate.