Magistrate Nadine Lia has an interest in her father-in-law's financial wealth, an NGO argued in court on Monday as it continued in its legal bid to have her removed from a case it filed concerning Pilatus Bank. 

Republikka is arguing that Lia's husband and children stand to inherit wealth from lawyer Pawlu Lia - her husband's father - and that therefore she has a conflict of interest that precludes her from hearing a case that could be damaging to some of his leading clients. 

The NGO believes that the magistrate has a clear conflict of interest in presiding over those challenge proceedings, given that lawyer Pawlu Lia, who acted as lawyer for former prime minister Joseph Muscat and his wife Michelle, as well as former OPM chief of staff Keith Schembri, is her father-in-law. 

Lia was also the lawyer who set the terms of reference for the 2017 Egrant inquiry, which Pilatus Bank featured prominently in. 

The magistrate’s ties to the senior lawyer give rise to a conflict of interest, argued Repubblika, requesting her recusal.

However, the magistrate has turned down multiple requests to that effect, finally prompting the NGO to file proceedings before the First Hall, Civil Court in its constitutional jurisdiction, claiming that such refusal breached its right to a fair hearing. 

One of the grounds for such recusal stemmed from the fact that according to the laws of succession, the magistrate’s children had a right to inherit their father who, in turn, also had the right to inherit his own father, Pawlu Lia. 

This meant that the magistrate herself had a “clear pecuniary interest” in her father-in-law’s wealth, Repubblika argued. 

Moreover, unless expressly excluded, the matrimonial regime of the magistrate and her husband was presumed to be regulated in terms of the community of acquests. 

This meant that all fruits of succession would form part of that community, further proving the magistrate’s financial interests in her father-in-law’s wealth. 

Finally, since her husband worked in his father’s legal office, all his earnings from that source would also accrue to the couple’s community of acquests, argued Repubblika’s lawyer, Jason Azzopardi.

On Monday, Azzopardi filed a note along with property searches relative to the Lia couple, indicating that between 2014 and 2019 the magistrate and her husband had purchased immovable property for a total price of €1,130, 000. 

No mention was made of any declaration excluding the couple’s community of acquests which thus was presumed to exist, Azzopardi said.

The note was filed ahead of the first hearing of the constitutional case which is scheduled later this week.