Mr Justice Vella resigns

Mr Justice Patrick Vella yesterday handed in his resignation from the bench to President Guido de Marco, appealing to the public to let the judiciary work in the peace that they deserved, and to stop criticising them indiscriminately because of the bribery case which led to his and the Chief Justice's resignation.

In a letter heavy with emotion, a copy of which was later handed to the press, Judge Vella cited health reasons for not resigning earlier. The Chief Justice resigned on Friday.

The Commission for the Administration of Justice met for a short time an hour or so after the judge passed his letter to the President at Verdala Castle.

The commission drew up a letter to the Speaker of Parliament to say that their work in the case was concluded.

As in the case of the Chief Justice, the resignation means that the impeachment procedures instituted against him in parliament are dropped.

The criminal charges stand.

In a statement which shocked the country 12 days ago, the Prime Minister announced that Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and Mr Justice Vella were being investigated by the police over claims that they accepted thousands of liri in return for reducing by four years on appeal a convicted drug trafficker's prison sentence.

The two judges were arraigned on August 4, charged with accepting bribes and with revealing official secrets in relation to a sentence handed down by the Court of Criminal Appeal against Mario Camilleri on July 5. Both pleaded not guilty.

On Friday, Chief Justice Arrigo personally handed his resignation to President de Marco, and apologised to the public for what he had caused.

Judge Vella showed up at Verdala Castle at 4.40 p.m., accompanied by his lawyers, Dr Toni Abela, Dr George Cutajar and Dr Michael Sciriha.

Judge Victor Caruana Colombo and Dr Joe Micallef Stafrace, for the commission for the administration of justice, were also present for yesterday's meeting.

Dr Abela came out to speak to the waiting press half an hour later and said Judge Vella was not in good enough health to speak to reporters in person, but relayed a message saying that he appreciated the press's work in such "a difficult time".

He said Judge Vella had even found it difficult to make such an important declaration in writing, and to go in person to meet the President.

When asked about the President's reaction, Dr Abela said Prof. de Marco felt saddened with the case, as he believed was all the public.

Asked whether the judge felt pre-judged, Dr Abela said Judge Vella implicitly refers to this in his letter.

In a section of the letter the judge says:

"Mr President, I feel that I must mention the cautious and prudent way in which a number of people wrote and spoke, among them the Chamber of Advocates in its declaration, which came at such a sensitive and delicate time, contrary to some others."

Dr Fenech Adami had said that the two judges had been asked to reduce the jail term by four years in return for thousands of liri. Further police investigations had revealed that the money had in fact reached the judges, Dr Fenech Adami had said.

"Whatever the outcome of the proceedings I face, and against which I intend to defend myself, one message is clear: that from the sky downwards, and in the eyes of the law, all are equal, and all should be treated equally," the letter says.

Dr Abela said that Judge Vella appealed to the public to let the judiciary work in serenity and not to pass generic and indiscriminate comments since certain matters "might be clarified in future".

Referring to his former colleagues in the judiciary, Judge Vella said in his letter that they were people of the highest integrity and fairness, and "the present circumstances should in no way reflect on them".

Judge Vella said he was profoundly saddened by the way that every aspect of this matter had been treated, continuing to damage the judiciary.

Being a judge should not serve as a disadvantage - it should not be an excuse to humiliate them or dishonour them, Dr Abela said.

Dr Abela said that during the meeting the lawyers pointed out "certain things and made certain recommendations" as to how the commission could deal with similar cases in future, should they happen again.

Mr Justice Vella, 57, was appointed judge in February, 1998, after serving as magistrate for 12 years.

In the morning, acting chief justice Joseph David Camilleri had a meeting with President de Marco.

A statement by the commission referred to last Wednesay's meeting, when Mr Justice Camilleri was appointed its acting vice-president. The commission was presented with the motion by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition relating to the impeachment of the two judges and President de Marco declared he would not be taking part in the investigation arising from the motion.

At yesterday's meeting of the commission, its acting president informed the commission that the President of Malta had passed to him the letter of resignation by the Chief Justice, which had been accepted, and Mr Justice Vella's resignation letter of earlier that day, which was also accepted.

In view of these developments, the commission abstained from taking ulterior cognizance of the motion of impeachment since the two judges no longer occupied their office, the commission said.