Lawyers for the Caruana Galizia family have filed a judicial letter demanding the State take “all measures necessary” which would lead to the opening of a public inquiry into whether the Maltese State is abiding by its obligation to protect life under the European Convention on Human Rights as incorporated into Maltese law.

The letter, filed in the First Hall of the Civil Court in its Constitutional Jurisdiction in the names of Peter, Matthew, Andrew and Paul Caruana Galizia, is addressed to the Attorney General, the Minister for Justice and the Prime Minister. 

It states that this public inquiry should include an obligation to investigate whether the death of Daphne Caruana Galizia could have been avoided, whether the State had abided by its obligation to take the necessary steps in view of circumstances which indicated that Caruana Galizia was in danger and whether it had given her the necessary protection.

The inquiry should also investigate whether the “procedures, processes and administrative structures” were sufficient to indicate to the State the knowledge of the dangers she was in and whether these were sufficient to trigger protection measures and in the absence, investigate how these procedures, processes and structures can be strengthened.

Failure to appoint ideal, independent and impartial persons to carry out this investigation would leave the plaintiffs no choice but to file legal proceedings against them, warned the letter, which was signed by lawyers Jason Azzopardi, Eve Borg Costanzi and Therese Comodini Cachia.