7. As the government acknowledges in its letter, legislative changes in this regard that have already been adopted by Parliament remain theoretical. No time frames are given for implementation, in spite of the fact that the letter of the government is headlined “implementation of the recommendations”. We do not think these delays are innocent. As [...]

6. We do not understand why it is still necessary for a qualified majority in Parliament to confirm whether a judge or magistrate should be removed from office once the Commission for the Administration of Justice (CAJ) and, as is proposed, the Constitutional Court, have confirmed that the criteria for removal established at law have [...]

5. The government’s response creates the false impression that “civil society has publicly praised” the appointment of the new Chief Justice by a resolution approved by a qualified majority in the House of Representatives. Although the government may have been referring to views expressed by others, Repubblika has indeed expressed its delight at the choice [...]

The remarks made by the government ignore the context in which this reform is being undertaken, and how this has evolved since the Commission published its report in December 2018. Since March 2013, the government has focused on manipulating the composition of the judiciary, to ensure it can exert influence on its decisions in a [...]

The document published on 13 May 2020 purports to provide details on how the recommendations of the Commission in its opinion 940/2018 are to be implemented. It is significant to note that this is the first substantive reaction from the government to an opinion it was served with 18 months ago. The document does not [...]

In this and the upcoming posts, I am transcribing Repubblika's response to the government's proposals after the Venice Commission's recommendations on rule of law reforms in Malta, starting with Repubblika's president Vicki Ann Cremona's opening letter:   18 May 2020 Mr Thomas Markert Director and Secretary European Commission for Democracy through Law Council of Europe [...]

So, the economy minister felt his dignity punctured by a someone pointing out to him that he was breaching the laws enacted by his own government on social distancing during a ministerial PR do. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for ministers to comply within their own rules. I don’t understand why they’re not [...]

So, it is now safe enough to go eat in a restaurant. That’s my sport. I’ve already called up my local and booked a table for Friday night. I can’t wait to have someone pour my wine again even though they will be dressed like they’re getting ready to operate on me. Robert Abela spent [...]

It’s almost exactly 40 years since John Lennon was shot dead outside his New York apartment, the man who imagined a world without countries, without greed, a world with nothing to kill or die for, where people live in peace. What a dream that was and humanity lost an influential voice of protest with the [...]

The European Commission said it is closely monitoring the situation of migrants on board Captain Morgan coastal cruisers hired by the Maltese government. 167 people are being held in limbo just outside Malta’s territorial waters, some of them have been there since 20 April. NGOs have complained the migrants’ are not being assessed for their [...]

I wrote earlier how Robert Abela does not volunteer for the rack to assure us he’s telling us the whole truth. Political leaders who want to persuade us of their sincerity will sit with journalists who will look like they’re challenging them and giving them a hard time. The gamble does not always pay off [...]

There’s a public open space in Qala in Gozo rather dramatically named ‘The Garden of Life’. It was a project of a PN-led council completed about 9 years ago and inaugurated by those annoying Nationalists. Here’s a souvenir photo from the launch at the time. Soon after, Qala switched to Labour and elected Clint Camilleri [...]

Robert Abela’s faith in Joseph Muscat is misplaced. Joseph Muscat got economically lucky in the way Robert Abela was unlucky. The economic success of the 7 years of plenty that ended last February happened in spite of Joseph Muscat, not because of him. The heir to Malta’s integration with Europe and the reinvention of our [...]

This post will not argue that we should stay indoors for longer. Nor will it argue that restaurants should open by this weekend.  I will not say that lockdown was excessive caution. Nor will I say that it should be kept up. I will say that we should be relying on our authorities to give [...]

Continues from parts 1 and 2 linked here. In this article I will be delving deeper into the question ‘Who owns Egrant?’, based on the report of the court-appointed experts, Harbinson Forensics. Point 218 on page 1254 states that “it seems significant to us that on 6 March 2016, Mossfon confirm that they do not [...]

Joseph Cuschieri has been “recalled” from Rome or so the unofficial parlance goes. Pardon me for being pedantic but one cannot be recalled from an embassy unless one has already been accredited to it. A country can nominate its ambassador in another country’s capital. But it is for the receiving country to accept them. This [...]

Those were the grounds the Malta Financial Services Authority cited yesterday when it banned Christian Ellul and Karl Schranz from working as directors or providers of any services regulated by the MFSA. Christian Ellul is the ex-husband of the daughter of Marian Kocner, the Slovak business tycoon who has been charged with ordering the murder [...]

The Council of Europe has extended the term of Dutch MP Pieter Omtzigt to continue to monitor Malta's progress on complying with the human rights watchdog's shopping list of actions after Daphne Caruana Galizia was killed. Pieter Omtzigt, known in his own country as the 'hound dog' for his assiduous insistence on transparency and good [...]

A third Captain Morgan ship, the Atlantis, has sailed out beyond Malta's territorial waters and has been alongside her sister ship Baħħari sometimes known as Bahari) since last night. The Atlantis joins the Europa II that was dispatched out to sea on April 30 and the Bahari that sailed out on May 7. Atlantis [...]

There are plenty of pictures around of Robert Abela not social distancing. I lamented on the topic in this post here. Look at these three images snapped within minutes of each other of Ian Castaldi Paris celebrating his elevation to Parliament. I do not know the order in which they were taken. Shuffle the order [...]