Standards Commissioner decision 'affront to human decency' - Archbishop

Updated 2.06pm

A Standards Commissioner decision that found that MPs are not duty-bound to tell the truth drew incredulity on Tuesday from Archbishop Charles Scicluna and rule of law group Repubblika.

"It beggars belief that an MP may be untruthful with impunity since lying is not prohibited by their Code of Conduct. Such a positivistic reading of the law is an affront to human decency," the Archbishop wrote on X.

Repubblika said the ruling by Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi showed the deficiency in Malta's ethical framework.

"It makes clear how urgent it is not only to update the code of ethics for members of parliament, but also to introduce clear obligations that reflect the fundamental norms of public life in a democracy, including truth, honesty in public communication, and accountability for those who misinform," the rule-of-law NGO said.

The Standards Commissioner on Monday threw out a complaint filed by Wasteserv against PN MP Claudette Buttigieg over claims about a proposed incinerator. Wasteserv CEO Richard Bilocca had argued that Buttigieg had misrepresented the findings of an environmental impact assessment of a proposed Magħtab incinerator, claiming it found towns within a six-kilometre radius of the incinerator would experience negative impacts.

The commissioner agreed with Bilocca, saying the study had found that the impacts on these towns would be negligible. A Times of Malta fact-check published earlier this year had reached a similar conclusion.

Ultimately, the commissioner said Buttigieg had “intentionally or otherwise, presented a false picture of the study”.

Nevertheless, the commissioner said, this did not constitute a breach of ethics, since “the obligation of honesty is only found in the code of ethics for ministers”.

In a statement on Tuesday, Repubblika insisted that ethical standards should not be measured only by a narrow interpretation of what is written, but by norms of behaviour that every citizen has a reasonable right to expect from those who hold public office. 

"The role of institutions of integrity and codes of conduct is not to find technical excuses, but to ensure that public officials act with honesty, responsibility, and respect for the democratic trust that has been placed in them," it said. 

Patrick Tabone, a former senior member of the PN government and head of cabinet of former EU commissioner Joe Borg was also scathing in his comments.

In a social media post, he said: "The code of standards helps articulate how people in particular positions should behave, but it is not meant as a comprehensive law.

"It is a complete failure of standards if an MP lies," he wrote. 

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli made it clear she was not happy with the case outcome. 

"All MPs - the people's representatives - should be obliged to tell the truth. We can't have MPs who speak falsehoods and get away with it. It's not the first time PN MPs did this," she said. 

Momentum chairperson Arnold Cassola remarked the Standards Commissioner's decision was "absolutely baffling".

"Truth and honesty are part and parcel of natural law and justice. We do not need any parliamentary or judicial luminaries to distort the meaning of this natural law," Cassola said.