A retired chief justice who formed part of a public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia said he found the experience “traumatic”.
Joseph Said Pullicino gave a rare glimpse of the personal toll on the three-member board that found the government should bear the responsibility of the 2017 assassination.
He was writing in the foreword to the 32nd edition of Id-Dritt, a publication of the University of Malta’s Law Student’s Society.
"I felt that we were in the process of performing the herculean task of cleansing the state’s Aegean stables".- Joseph Said Pullicino
He said the proceedings and the findings of the board of inquiry into the October 2017 assassination of Caruana Galizia, of which he formed part, revealed to what extent the culture of impunity had “infiltrated and poisoned relations” between the public administration and citizens, undermining state authorities and institutions meant to put in place effective checks and balances to secure and guarantee good governance.
“Forming part of that board of inquiry was for me a traumatic experience,” he wrote.
“I shall only state that during the hearings my colleagues and I felt that we were in the process of performing the herculean task of cleansing the state’s Augean stables. It was common knowledge that all was not right in the management of public affairs but few expected the rot to have invaded so deeply and widely.
Former chief justice Joseph Said Pullicino was part of the three-member board of inquiry on the Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination.“I realised that most, if not all, allegations of abuse of power, maladministration and corruption would not have happened had there not been the active or passive connivance if not complicity of public administrators including some heading government ministries and departments as well as public authorities and entities,” he added.
Culture of impunity
In July 2021, the inquiry said the state should shoulder responsibility for the death of Caruana Galizia.
In a 437-page report, Said Pullicino, retired judge Michael Mallia and Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro concluded that a culture of impunity was created from the highest echelons of power within Castille under former prime minister Joseph Muscat.
Muscat resigned in January 2020 following the arraignment of chief suspect Yorgen Fenech, amid accusations of having protected people linked to the murder of the journalist.
Said Pullicino went on to write that all this ought to have alerted the university and its many components, particularly those with a remit covering the study of law and public policy, to serious deficiencies involving good governance, transparency and accountability of the public administration.
He stressed that the university should not only be a seat of learning and research. It should also be a hub of lively debate, heated confrontation and strong contestation on major, controversial issues that society faces.
He appealed for students to "wake up" from their "lethargy" and challenge abuse of power in society.