PN leadership contender Adrian Delia said that he decided to declare his assets publicly in spite of the Nationalist Party statute not making it obligatory for contenders to do so before the election.
Delia had initially declared he will publish his declaration of assets only if elected leader, but later said he would do so before the election, which will take place in two phases in September.
“I have already declared that I will immediately sell my assets once elected leader. I am already in the process of selling my shares. I can assure you I do not own any secret company offshore. Besides, most of my assets have already been made public through media leaks," he said.
Asked by The Malta Independent to say which audit firm has been tasked with the job, Delia said he cannot divulge any names. "We're in the middle of summer, a lot of audit firms are on holiday. We're still trying to find firms to carry out this process."
Earlier, when addressing the media in front of the law courts, Delia presented a set of proposals to improve the court efficiency and justice services in Malta.
He explained that among the most important of proposals, is to have a more efficient and independent way of appointing members of the judiciary. He explained that the process should be widened.
"We should start appointing members of the judiciary through the process of a simple expression of interest," he explained. "Those interested and who know that are eligible to occupy the post, should put their name in the list and allow for an adjudicating board to take the decision."
He also mentioned a proposal to look into the possibility of having another building to serve as a court, besides the one in Valletta. When asked to specify, Delia said that for the time being, he cannot mention any particular building. "This new building can even be found outside Valletta. With today's technology, we can have the courts operating from two different sites."
On the court finances, Delia said that the courts should have an autonomous budget. He mentioned how it is high time for Malta to have more specified courts and specified members of the judiciary.
Commenting on Family Courts, the lawyer said that this should be expanded and provided with enough members of the judiciary to allow a more efficient system. He also referred to the legal aid. "The system is not strong enough. We need to make legal aid more accessible. Justice cannot have any financial barriers," he added.
Delia mentioned more proposals, including updating the Giovanni Bonello report and increase investment in the police force. He said that so far, the government invests 9 euros a year in training for each member of the police force a year and this needs to change. He mentioned the need for more autonomy in the office of the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner.