An appeal filed by three ministers who want to overturn a decision to open a criminal inquiry in their regard is to be heard by Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja.

The appeal, which ministers Chris Cardona, Konrad Mizzi and Edward Scicluna filed with urgency last week, had originally been assigned Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera. 

However, on Monday, Madam Justice Scerri Herrera, whose brother José Herrera serves in cabinet with the three ministers, declared that she would abstain from hearing the appeal.  

She declared that “in the interest of justice” she had chosen to abstain, observing that she might be perceived as having “a flagrant conflict of interest that could possibly prejudice the outcome of the magisterial inquiry.”

Madam Justice Scerri Herrera took the decision of her own accord. She however noted that “perhaps the time is ripe for the legislator to legislate on the way forward in such circumstances, rather than leaving the decision to the subjective discretion of the same member of the judiciary” faced by the issue of recusal. 

Following the abstention of Madam Justice Scerri Herrera, the Chief Justice assigned the appeal to Mr Justice Aaron Bugeja.

The appeal stems from a decree delivered by Magistrate Doreen Clarke last week, upholding an application by civil society group Repubblika requesting an inquiry into allegations of criminal complicity by the three ministers in the Vitals Global Healthcare hospitals deal.

The magistrate ruled that fresh evidence about the conduct of the ministers, in the sale of the St Luke’s, Karin Grech and Gozo state hospitals, merited that Repubblika’s request be upheld, thus referring the matter to another magistrate, currently investigating Ivan Vassallo, the owner of hospital supplier Technoline.