Under the new constitutional reform, the president should be given the opportunity and the resources to send a piece of legislation back to parliament for reconsideration or discussion, outgoing President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca said on the latest edition of Indepth.

Asked by Malta Independent Editor-in-Chief Rachel Attard whether she was comfortable with her role being that of essentially "rubber-stamping" whatever was placed in front of her by Parliament, especially in the case of laws which she was not necessarily in favour of, the outgoing President said that whilst she has her own set of morals and ethics, she cannot overlook that Malta is a democratic country and that she has a constitutional role vested in her.

However, she lamented that under the new constitutional reform the president should be given the opportunity and the resources to send a piece of legislation back to parliament for reconsideration or discussion.

"Some people say that the president is the guardian of the constitution - in what way though?", the President questioned. "See if you can find in the constitution a point that puts our mind at rest that the president can act unilaterally on something - there is nothing", she said.

Speaking more specifically about the constitutional reform she said that this was a historic moment as, for the first time, the people can be part of the reform process and it can also serve as an educational exercise for everyone to learn and understand the importance of the constitution.

She also revealed that she will not remain the chair of the steering committee responsible for constitutional reform, and that it will be President-in-waiting George Vella who will take over following his appointment to Malta's top role.