“This government is a reformist government, and thus it considers the opinion of the Venice Commission as an important point of reference for the strengthening of the rule of law in our country.”
This was stated last December as soon as the Venice Commission published its opinion. An opinion prepared on the invitation of the government of Malta, which included a number of recommendations for changes and reforms.
Changes and reforms on laws which this government inherited and have been there for whole generations, if not for centuries.
However, it is important to note that this government did not wait for the Venice Commission’s opinion to start implementing reforms in the justice sector. The government asked the Venice Commission for its opinion to better and strengthen what had been already implemented since this government took office in 2013.
A series of reforms, which the previous legislatures had not even thought of, or failed to implement during their 25-year stint in government.
I will list some of these reforms again, for the sake of all those who conveniently suffer from political amnesia:
• the removal of prescription on acts of political corruption;
• the legal regulation of political party financing;
• the introduction of the rights of disclosure, translation, and interpretation to suspects and those held under arrest;
• the liberalisation of laws on artistic freedom;
• the strengthening of the Commission for Administration of Justice by entrenching it in the Constitution - establishing the Judicial Appointments Committee, and establishing the Committee for Judges and Magistrates as a completely independent organ within the judiciary to take charge of disciplinary cases involving members of the judiciary;
• the Whistle-blower Protection Act;
• a new Parliamentary oversight mechanism on appointment of Chairpersons of main regulatory authorities and non-career Ambassadors;
• the introduction of the right to be assisted by a lawyer during police interrogations;
• the law which implemented a sound legal structure for the Legal Aid sector;
• significant reinforcements to the judiciary’s conditions to further attract respectable legal minds;
• the establishment of additional Chambers of the Court of Appeal for further efficiency;
• the endowing unprecedented resources in the form of Court Attorneys, to the Judiciary;
• the implementation of novel IT systems and online systems enhancing both the court and the public’s experience in needs related to our judicial system.
All the above, and more, were implemented for the benefit of the system and for that of the public in general.
Again, these laws and reforms already implemented by this government definitely strengthened the Rule of Law. Having said this, we are always ready to implement other reforms to continue to enhance the sector.
Yesterday I announced further reforms. I have the cabinet’s mandate to start immediately with the legislative process in Parliament leading to the separation of the Attorney General’s roles.
It is worthy to note that his has been brought about in less than 100 days from the publication of the Venice Commission opinion.
The government will be legislating for a separation of the Attorney General's prosecutorial and advisory roles before Parliament rises for the summer recess, with the first reading being moved on Monday 25th March 2019.
Yesterday I also sent a letter to Mr Frans Timmermans, First Vice-President of the European Commission, Ms Vera Jourová, Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Claude Moraes, Chair Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament, and Mr Gianni Buquicchio, President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe.
In the letter I made reference to the Venice Commission's Opinion on Constitutional Arrangements and Separation of Powers and the Independence of the Judiciary and law Enforcement of the 18 December 2018 and said that the main reform priorities are the recommendations concerning prosecution and the recommendations concerning judicial appointments and judicial discipline.
The legal text which will lead to the separation of the prosecution and the advisory roles held by the Attorney General will be published in the coming days. This dual role has been held by the Attorney General since 1936.
With regards to the recommendations relating to judicial appointments and judicial discipline, the government is in agreement with further reform. The required changes can only be implemented through Constitutional amendments, which in turn can only be made with the approval of two-thirds of members of Parliament. Therefore, government will immediately embark on a consultation process with the Parliamentary Opposition with a view to reaching a consensus expediently.
Furthermore, also on Monday 25 March 2019, government will move the first readings of the necessary legislative changes with regards to the Ombudsman, Civil Service: Permanent Secretaries, Civil Service: Positions of Trust, Independent Commissions and the Police. The legal texts will also be published in the near future and government aims to make these changes by the end of the current calendar year. Most of those changes require the approval of two-thirds of members of Parliament.
These, in all, represent one third of the changes proposed by the Venice Commission.
As recommended by the Venice Commission, the issue of transitory measures will also be the subject of consultation. Such measures are essential for implementing a planned and orderly transition from the current to the proposed systems in as smooth a manner as possible and for the avoidance of difficulties and legal uncertainties in the transitional periods.
The government is confident that this process will be expeditious and will complement the ongoing reform process to which it is committed, and in furtherance of which it has implemented numerous Constitutional and legal changes since 2013, to strengthen the enforcement of the rule of law and the separation of powers, all of which were acknowledged by the Venice Commission.