A former chief justice has blasted an upcoming government bill to reform magisterial inquiries, warning it will “only serve to shield politicians and their persons of trust from investigation”.
Writing on Times of Malta's comments board in reaction to an opinion article by columnist Ranier Fsadni, former Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri said the government had “captured” the police and the Attorney General's office and “now seeks to tie up all remaining loose ends”.
This, he said, was being sought by “practically depriving the citizen of its only remaining instrument, a judicial investigation or in genere, into any suspected criminal conduct by politicians or their acolytes or proxies.”
The proposed bill will prevent private citizens from immediately requesting a magisterial inquiry, forcing them to instead file a police report and wait six months before petitioning the courts – where a judge will decide whether the inquiry should proceed.
On Monday, former police commissioner Peter Paul Zammit told Times of Malta the reform was “sorely needed” while the head of the Chamber of Advocates said it was studying it but expressed concerns.
Rebutting Zammit’s words, the former chief justice said it had been “so sorely [needed] that government thought of it only when it started to be fruitfully investigated for gross wrongdoing by magistrates because the Police Commissioner wouldn't budge.”
Dismissing concerns that hearsay was being used to trigger investigations – with the new law requiring citizens to present evidence with their request for an investigation – Camilleri called this a “big red herring”.
“Hearsay evidence is admissible in certain circumstances even in the case of fully fledged jury trials and therefore there is nothing amiss when hearsay is used to trigger an investigation, which is what an in genere inquiry is.
“This hearsay thing is a big red herring which, surprisingly, even the president of the Chamber of Advocates and, not surprisingly, ex-Police Commissioner P.P. Zammit, swallowed hook, line and sinker.”
The comments appeared underneath an article at timesofmalta.com.
The former chief justice was critical of the reform.
Stressing there was “nothing untoward” in relying on hearsay evidence to trigger an investigation”, and it was “normal” to allow such evidence at an investigative stage, Camilleri said he found it “hard to believe” that Zammit and other police investigators did not fully make use of it during investigations.
Responding to a part of the bill that will prevent court experts from giving opinions, Camilleri said the “added value of expert evidence lies precisely in the giving of expert opinions.”
“We already allow expert opinion at trial and therefore it is logical to allow it at investigation stage.”
This is not the first time Camilleri – who served as Chief Justice from 2010 to 2017 – has spoken out. Towards the end of his tenure, he stressed that the rule of law as a cornerstone of democracy needed to be applied equally to all.
“The rule of law cannot rule if the laws are not applied and enforced... If the persons in these authorities do not do their duties impartially and independently, the rule of law will be undermined,” he said.
“Should there be punishment for some but not for others, the courts would no longer be the administrators of justice but become the administrators of injustice.”
Announcing the bill last week, Prime Minister Robert Abela said it would cut down on inquiries being used “as a tool for persecution” while calling the country’s current legal framework “obscene” and “archaic”.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the government announced it was fast-tracking the reform and would present it in Parliament next Tuesday, effectively ignoring civil society calls for the plan to be opened up to public consultation.