The Council of Europe's anti-corruption group - GRECO - has criticised Malta for failing to update its code of ethics for MPs and parliamentary standing orders, seven years after it urged the government to do so.

GRECO concluded that Malta has implemented satisfactorily or dealt with in a satisfactory manner four out of the nine recommendations contained in the previous evaluation report. Four recommendations have been partly implemented and one had not been implemented.

Malta has not made sufficient progress to ensure there is appropriate supervision and enforcement of the rules on MPs' declarations of assets, financial interests, outside activities, and conflicts of interest, it said in a report issued on Tuesday.

Although Malta had enacted the Standards in Public Life Act, and a commissioner with supervisory functions had been appointed, there were no sufficient sanctions available for late filing, false filing or failure to file the required financial reports. 

"The establishment of the Commissioner for Standards is to be welcomed, but progress is needed concerning awareness-raising activities and confidential counselling. Moreover, appropriate supervision and enforcement systems of the rules on declaration of assets, interests and outside activities by means of effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions are also still lacking," it said. 

Judicial accountability

GRECO recalled that it had also urged Malta to strengthen the system of  judicial accountability by extending the range of available disciplinary sanctions to ensure better proportionality and by improving the transparency of the complaints processes. 

Although the Commission for the Administration of Justice some years ago was put in charge of judicial discipline procedures, no steps had been taken to improve the transparency of complaints processes in the judiciary, it said. 

"Constitutional changes have paved the way for reinforcing the independence, impartiality and transparency of judicial appointments procedures. Some improvements have been noted in respect of disciplinary proceedings within the judiciary.

"However, induction training programmes for newly appointed judges as well as in-service training need to be reinforced, together with targeted guidance and counselling on corruption prevention and judicial ethics," GRECO said.

"In respect of prosecutors, the adoption of a code of ethics, including a number of safeguards for the independence of prosecutors in Malta has been a most welcome achievement."

Read the report in full by clicking the PDF link below.