Prime Minister Robert Abela and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard did not breach ethical standards when they received information about the status of the Jean Paul Sofia magisterial inquiry, the Standards Commissioner has concluded.
An investigation was made following a complaint by shadow justice minister Karol Aquilina, who raised concerns about Abela and Attard having information about the magisterial inquiry into the death of Jean Paul Sofia while it was still in progress.
On that day that he announced a public inquiry into Sofia’s death, Abela revealed that the magistrate who was conducting the magisterial inquiry had asked for another extension. He had used the opportunity to criticise the delay, adding that “the government will not be held hostage by the courts”.
In his complaint, Aquilina said that Abela and Attard had no right to obtain the information they disclosed and this amounted to a breach of statutory duties and ethics as well as abuse of power and unlawful conduct.
In his reply, Attard had said that as justice minister it was his duty to communicate with the Attorney General after the expiration of the already extended one-month term of the magisterial inquiry and that the law permitted the attorney general to share the process verbal of the inquiry at her discretion and upon request.
Standards’ Commissioner Joseph Azzopardi said in his report that the prime minister had given an almost identical reply to Attard’s, adding that such information could not be described as confidential.
Citing the relevant laws, Azzopardi said that it was ultimately the attorney general’s discretion whether to provide the process verbal to anyone.
“It is not correct to claim that the prime minister and the justice minister obtained information they had no right to receive,” he said.
Abela and Attard had pointed out past instances where two ministers, Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici and Tonio Borg, had answered parliamentary questions about magisterial inquiries, Azzopardi observed.
“Providing information about the status of a magisterial inquiry - whether it is ongoing, has been concluded, or has had its term extended - does not constitute disclosure of the content of the minutes, documents, or evidence collected within it,” he said.
“The provisions on confidentiality in the Criminal Code are crucial for the administration of justice, but they should not be applied more broadly than the law actually requires. There is no indication in this case that the prime minister or the minister for justice were given any content from the minutes.”
Azzopardi therefore concluded that the complaint did not hold and that neither Abela nor Attard had been provided with any information that could not be disclosed.
Opposition blinded by party politics: PL
In reaction to the report, the Labour Party said that the complaint to the standards commissioner reflected the behaviour of a vindictive Opposition focused on fake news and trying to score political points.
“The Opposition remains blinded by partisanship, focused solely on spreading baseless accusations,” it said.
“The truth has now come to light.”
Abela needs to apologise to magistrate - PN
The Nationalist Party in a statement signed by Karol Aquilina, observed that while the prime minister had, for weeks, said that the magistrate requested more time for her inquiry, the standards commissioner declared that no such request needed to be made.
She only needed to inform the attorney general that she needed more time, explaining her reasons.
The prime minister should therefore publicly apologise to the magistrate and promise not to attack the members of the judiciary again, Aquilina said.