Retired judge Philip Sciberras - who was appointed by the government many a time to form part of or chair independent inquiries has a conflicting role as chairman of a consultative board at St Vincent De Paul Home for the Elderly, The Malta Independent on Sunday can reveal.

The fact that the retired judge sits on a board and is on the public payroll and at the same time is chosen by the government to form part of, or chair a string of independent inquiries is, in itself, conflicting. Judge Sciberras was a Labour MP and was appointed judge by Labour in 1997.

Judge Sciberras was recently chosen to chair a board of inquiry looking into the Mater Dei Hospital 'weak' concrete and another inquiry announced by the government this week, which is to look into "new evidence" which has emerged tied to the concrete saga at the hospital.

Sources who initially spoke to this newsroom claimed that the former judge sits on a board which decides on who is eligible to reside at the home. But this newsroom investigated further and asked Parliamentary Secretary for the Disabled and Active Ageing Justyne Caruana to confirm whether the ex-judge chairs or forms part of a board at the residence for the elderly.

Dr Caruana said that Judge Sciberras sits on a consultative board which is given tasks by the management of the home of the elderly not her. In the past, she said, he was involved in the Charter of Patients' Rights.

In its official replies to this newsroom, the secretariat of Dr Caruana said: "The consultative SVP board is made up of a number of professionals. Being a consultative board, it has no executive powers whatsoever and does not decide anything on the operations at SVP.

"Judge Philip Sciberras' role is law-related and the board was appointed in 2013, that is when Marie Louise Coleiro Preca", now President of the Republic, "was still minister at the time."

"Judge Sciberras was also involved in the setting up of the Charter of Rights and obligations for persons residing in state-run homes for the elderly," the ministry said. This newsroom asked the secretariat to say how much exactly Judge Sciberras is earning in his role as chairman of the consultative board but to no avail.

At the beginning of this legislature, in May 2013, Judge Sciberras had been chosen to sit on an Embryo Protection Authority board by then health minister Godfrey Farrugia. The individuals who sat on the board before it was dissolved had been removed and replaced by the former judge, along with a number of health professionals.

At the time, gynaecologist Albert Scerri, who was removed from the board regulating IVF had expressed his concern about the move after Dr Farrugia had claimed that Dr Scerri had a conflicting role, something Dr Scerri strongly argued against.

Sheehan shooting

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had appointed an independent board of inquiry to investigate a shooting incident involving a former minister's driver and allegations levelled by the Opposition of an attempted cover-up.

The inquiry was led by Judge Emeritus Alberto Magri, assisted by Judges Emeriti JD Camilleri and Philip Sciberras.

He had also been tasked to conduct an inquiry on the German children found in Marsalforn, two of whom had been abducted by a German social worker while in the care of Appogg - Malta's social welfare agency.

PN had expressed concern over Mater Dei board of inquiry

The former judge was tasked to lead a board of inquiry looking into Mater Dei's concrete, the report of which was published last week. But now, the government has asked the retired judge to look into further evidence which has emerged. The government said so in a statement but did not give more information on what the new evidence is all about.

On its part, the Nationalist Party had said that it does not have confidence in the impartiality of a board of inquiry tasked with looking into the use of weak concrete for the building of Mater Dei Hospital.

At a press conference, PN deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami had said that the presence of former judge Philip Sciberras, who was a Labour Party candidate and became active in the party after he retired from the bench, as well as his son Alex, who was Labour mayor of Msida, meant that the board could not be seen as being impartial. They stressed that Alex Sciberras was appointed to the board for legal support and argued that he should not be grilling those giving testimony.

In Parliament some two weeks ago, Health Minister Konrad Mizzi had confirmed that Alex Sciberras was tasked to give legal support to the inquiry board. This statement caused an uproar in Parliament with the Opposition expressing shock over the issue.