Need a new search?

Members of the Association of Judges and Magistrates are up in arms over the government’s decision to agree to implement a number of measures recommended by the Venice Commission. The association does not officially speak for all the judiciary but only represents those judges and magistrates that have signed up to join it. It is [...]

The president of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio told this website that “no formal advice was yet sought or provided” with regards to the changes to the law currently being debated in Parliament on the manner of appointing the police chief. Gianni Buquicchio told this website that Byron Camilleri’s Ministry only sought “informal consultations”. This [...]

It is truly worrying to see Robert Abela’s government adopt the methods of its predecessor. One such habit was Owen Bonnici’s classic pivot of saying that the reforms he proposed were “approved by the Venice Commission”. That’s when they had not at all been approved by the Venice Commission. Byron Camilleri in parliament yesterday claimed [...]

Photo: Leo Cavallo/Alamy Live News European Commission sources have told this website that Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova has “stressed the need to ensure the necessary checks and balances” in Malta’s planned justice reforms and that Malta’s government is “to consult the Venice Commission”. Commissioner Jourova’s remarks were made in a meeting in Brussels [...]

Three Members of the European Parliament have tabled a question to the European Commission asking whether after reading the Venice Commission’s report on Malta they now are willing to “engage in a constructive dialogue under the rule of law framework”. That’s euro-speak for effective pressure on Malta to undergo reforms or face political consequences. The [...]

Repubblika Press Release: The report by the Venice Commission, the advisory body of the Council of Europe, reflects Repubblika's concerns about the lack of strong democratic structures in Malta. Having elections every couple of years does not mean having a democracy. Constitutional structures which ensure separation of powers and a strong system of checks and [...]

The Venice Commission in its Malta report, says Malta is obliged to establish whether the government knew of the risks to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s life and did all it could to avoid those risks. In its report the Venice Commission said Malta has obligations to establish “that the authorities knew or ought to have known [...]

Here's a link to the full Venice Commission report in full. What no one seems to be acknowledging is that this report is another legacy of Daphne Caruana Galizia. It came about because the Council of Europe wanted to understand why a journalist was killed in Malta and appointed Pieter Omtzigt of the Netherlands as [...]

The European Commission’s rule of law report on Malta finds very slow progress on its recommendations for reform. It is especially scathing on the government’s failure the improve the working environment of journalists. “While the media reform process launched following the publication of the report of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry is still ongoing, [...]

A European Commission review of Malta’s progress on necessary reforms is expected to criticise Malta’s slow progress in fighting money laundering and fixing weaknesses in the governance of the country. “There remains room to mitigate the risks from money laundering,” a draft EU Commission six-monthly review is expected to remark. The Commission will acknowledge improvements [...]