All the principles enshrined in chapter two of Malta's constitution should become enforceable, the ADPD political party said on Tuesday.
It was reacting to a statement by the Nationalist Party on Monday which said it would move a bill to amend the Constitution so that the right for the environment, already included in the constitution as a declaration, would become enforceable as a human right.
ADPD Secretary General Ralph Cassar said: "The logical step is simple. The principles in Chapter II of the Constitution should become enforceable in court by deleting or amending Article 21 which states that 'The provisions of this Chapter shall not be enforceable in any court’.”
"We had already made submissions in this sense to the Constitutional Convention which, due to a lack of goodwill from either the government or the opposition, or both, is conveniently for them in a state of limbo. We also reiterated the proposal in the 2022 electoral programme."
ADPD chairperson Sandra Gauci said that constitutional principles which remain unenforceable are to all intents and purposes just a dead letter. "In countries where constitutional principles are enforceable, civil society has made historic gains in courts, in areas such as the fight against climate change and air quality, for example. In the United Kingdom in 2015 the Supreme Court forced the Government to clean-up the air from nitrogen dioxide pollution from diesel vehicles which kills thousands of people a year. A Dutch Court, also in 2015, ordered the government to reduce emissions affecting the climate by at least 25% in five years."
"It is time to strengthen our democracy: it is disgraceful that in Malta the parliamentary parties have let really important principles be simply fluff in our Constitution. It's high time that they stop tinkering with the Constitution. It is high time for them to get down to business and take the Constitutional reform seriously.”
The principles found in Chapter II of the Constitution include the right to work and education.
The chapter also provides that the State shall promote the development of culture and scientific and technical research. The State shall also safeguard the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the nation, protect and conserve the environment and its resources and address any form of environmental degradation in Malta.
Other principles include equality of men and women.