On Tuesday, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio had written to Malta President George Vella requesting a pardon in return for naming a former government minister who was a "mastermind" in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

The Degiorgio brothers are two out of three people who are accused of carrying out the Caruana Galizia murder. 

The dual request for a pardon means that five out of the seven people who are charged with their involvement in Caruana Galizia's murder have now requested a pardon.

Only the middleman Melvin Theuma has been granted one.  Alleged mastermind Yorgen Fenech had his pardon application rejected, as did Vincent Muscat - who eventually opted for a plea bargain.

According to the applications, the brothers are willing to name a former minister and a middleman who have not yet been given a presidential pardon in the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder.

Alfred Degiorgio's application also reads that said he is willing to name a former minister and also a sitting minister who were "masterminds" behind an attempted robbery and an attempted homicide, as well as other persons involved in the case.

This situation is without doubt a very delicate one.

It is the Cabinet which will have to decide on the pardon requests, based on the advice by the Attorney General and the Police. But here we have a situation where those requesting the pardon claim that they can implicate a member of the same Cabinet.

Last Sunday, the Prime Minister said that in such cases, the law used by the judiciary which governs on what grounds they should recuse themselves from specific cases would be used by the Cabinet. 

This would mean that the person - whoever it is - mentioned by the alleged hitmen would have to recuse himself from the decision. 

However, we must note here: the Cabinet is not the judiciary, where members are completely their own person and distinct from one another.  The Cabinet is a group of people who are politically elected as one group, and work very closely to each other. 

Can members of the Cabinet objectively decide on a pardon request which would implicate one of their own? 

After all, implicating a sitting member of Cabinet will cause huge reputational damage to the same Cabinet and, by extension, those who are part of it - to the detriment of whatever political ambitions they have.

Such an instance shows the failings of the country's laws and the dangers of its strong centralization around the government.

This all being said, we must come to the nature of this particular pardon request as a whole.

The Caruana Galizia family has said that it shouldn't be granted, and that criminals being brought to justice cannot come at the expense of justice for Caruana Galizia - a stance which is agreeable.

Investigations should be carried out in the fullest manner - and should not rely on every Tom, Dick, and Harry allegedly involved in the case asking for a pardon.  Otherwise, how else can full justice be done?