Retired judge Philip Sciberras has been awarded €9,000 by way of moral damages over an article published by The Sunday Times of Malta, which had claimed he had received a ‘privileged’ ex-MP pension despite objections by the Treasury. 

In an article published on March 18, 2018, the newspaper had reported that former judge Sciberras, who previously served as a Labour parliamentarian, was given a pension reserved for MPs. 

The Treasury had objected, basing itself on a memo of 1990 and arguing that the former judge had not served in parliament for the required period of time.

Judge Emeritus Sciberras felt defamed by the article and insisted that “no pressure had been exerted by himself or anyone else” for the pension to be granted or for the Treasury to alter its position. 

When delivering judgment on Tuesday the court, presided over by magistrate Victor George Asciak, concluded there was no doubt that “the applicant, the association [of ex-MPs], Parliament, the Treasury and the Attorney General had proceeded in a cautious and reasonable manner.”

Although singular parts of the article, when taken in isolation, were not deemed as defamatory, when taken within context, brought to bear upon the import of the story, the court observed.

The court concluded there had been “no interference or pressure for the applicant to finally get what he legally deserved”.

According to the author of the article, “the retired judge had waited until Labour was returned to power to make his claim,” noted the court.

However, the only reason why Judge Sciberras had taken so long, indeed years, to make his claim was that he had been made aware of his pension entitlement by a fellow colleague.

Moreover, he had been burdened “by his judicial workload and gave little importance to such matters,” the court observed. 

When all was considered the court concluded that the article had been based upon “mistaken facts” which, though linked to a matter of public interest, could not be upheld as “fair comment”.

The author had relied heavily on Treasury sources and the minutes of an association meeting in September 2014, claiming that the retired judge had not heeded his call before the article was published. 

While appreciating the role of the media as the fourth pillar in a democracy, the court said that it could not ignore such a case where a person was targeted by “public disrespect without legal justification.”

Rather than levy constructive criticism against the system of pensions for ex-MPs, the author, Ivan Camilleri, had “attacked the integrity of a person who had built his professional career exclusively upon his integrity and trustworthiness as a judge in the Superior Courts of Malta”.

This was the first serious allegation in his [the applicant’s] regard, said Magistrate Asciak, pointing out that Sciberras had been subjected to an investigation by the Auditor General who had found no wrong behaviour or political interference. 

Moreover, the respondents had never tendered an apology, the court said, awarding the applicant €9,000 by way of moral damages over the defamatory article.

Times of Malta is assessing the judgment.