Man facing extradition claims human rights violation
A man yesterday filed a constitutional application claiming that his fundamental rights had been breached when the Minister of Justice failed to include a part of the framework decision on the European arrest warrant in the subsidiary legislation on...
A man yesterday filed a constitutional application claiming that his fundamental rights had been breached when the Minister of Justice failed to include a part of the framework decision on the European arrest warrant in the subsidiary legislation on the grounds of which he may be extradited to Italy.
Carmelo Borg filed the application in the First Hall of the Civil Court, in its constitutional jurisdiction, and called on the court to issue a preliminary reference. This would allow the European Court the right to give its interpretation as to whether Malta could have left out an article of the framework decision when drafting the subsidiary legislation.
Mr Borg is wanted by Italian authorities in connection with the Maundy Thursday drowning of six Chinese and Mongolian illegal immigrants some 15 miles off Sicily after they were allegedly forced off a boat that had reportedly left from Malta. The Magistrates' Court had ruled for his extradition and the decision was confirmed on appeal. However, Mr Borg will not be extradited until two pending cases - one civil and the other constitutional - are decided.
In the constitutional application filed yesterday Mr Borg claimed that when enacting the subsidiary legislation the Justice Minister had failed to include a part of the framework decision on the European arrest warrant. This was in breach of his fundamental human rights as it meant that there was a lack of "proper implementation of the framework decision".
This had also created the problem of the non-harmonisation of the European Union laws because this meant that Malta's laws regarding the European arrest warrant were not the same as those of other member states and this defeated the aim of the framework decision.
In light of the point raised, Mr Borg called on the court to issue the preliminary reference. He also asked the Maltese court to stay the proceedings before it, pending the European Court's decision.
Lawyers Edward Zammit Lewis, José Herrera and Adrian Camilleri signed the application.