University students will tonight be meeting in front of the law courts to protest against constant attacks against the judiciary, the Law Students' Association said on Tuesday.
The protest will start at 8pm, and will see the participation of several student organisations. On Monday, 21 student organisations condemned comments made by Prime Minister Robert Abela against the judiciary following the conclusion of the Vitals magisterial inquiry which led to charges being filed against, among others, former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat.
The protest will be in support for the rule of law and solidarity with the judiciary which, the student body said, had been a victim of attack and vilification.
In their statement on Monday, the student organisations condemned recent attacks on members of the Judiciary. The Rule of Law requires that the Judiciary is allowed to function without undue pressure. Comments made by the highest government officials which devalue the work and tarnish the reputation and integrity of the judiciary have no place in a parliamentary democracy founded on the rule of law.”
Since the Vitals magisterial inquiry was concluded last week, Prime Minister Robert Abela has gone public to express his dissatisfaction with the judiciary. On the day the inquiry was concluded, the Prime Minister said that the magistrate made a conscious decision to conclude her report on the same day that the call for election nominations was opened. He also said that the expects much better from the judiciary.
Since then, Abela has politicized the independent body in his discourse after calling for voters to “show what they think of the judiciary” and that the magisterial inquiry undermined the judicial process.
Nationalist Party leader Bernard Grech has repeatedly condemned the Labour government’s attacks against the judiciary this past week. Grech has made continuous reference to Prime Minister Robert Abela in these condemnations while calling the judiciary as the last bastion of our democracy. Grech has also accused the Prime Minister of having a copy of the inquiry report and for using the inquiry’s outcome to his benefit.
This signatories of this statement are the Malta Law Students’ Society (GħSL), Junior Chamber of Advocates, the Earth Systems Association (ESA), the Malta International Relations Student Association (MIRSA), the Medical Biochemistry Students’ Association (MBSA), Studenti Demokristjani Maltin (SDM), Studenti Ħarsien Soċjali (SĦS), the University of Malta Rowing Club, JEF Malta, the Media & Knowledge Sciences Association (MKSA), Kunsill Studenti Universitarji (KSU), the Malta Medical Students’ Association (MMSA), the University Engineering Students’ Association (UESA), the University Students of Performing Arts Association (USPA), the Crimonology Students’ Association (CSA), the Association of Linguistics and Language Technology (ALLT), the Malta Association of Dental Students, Betapsi Malta, TDM 2000 Malta, S-Cubed – Science Students’ Society, and ICTSA – ICT Students’ Association.