The government has appointed a committee of experts on the media sector, which includes a number of members of the press, in fulfillment of one of the recommendations of the public inquiry into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

The board was announced by the Office of the Prime Minister on Tuesday. 

Its aim will be to analyse the journalism and media sector in Malta, underline the areas which require development, and make recommendations to the Prime Minister accordingly. 

The board will be chaired by Former Justice Michael Mallia, who also chaired the public inquiry into Caruana Galizia’s murder. 

The experts appointed to the board are Matthew Xuereb, Assistant Editor at the Times of Malta and President of the Institute for Maltese Journalists; Kurt Sansone, Online Editor of MaltaToday and Secretary General of the Institute for Maltese Journalists; Saviour Balzan, founder and co-owner of MaltaToday; and Neil Camilleri – the Malta Independent’s Editor in Chief. 

Professor Carmen Sammut, who holds a PhD in Media and Communications and lectures and writes about journalism and communication; Adv. Kevin Dingli, who served as Chairperson of Malta’s Press Ethics Commission and is the Managing Partner of Dingli & Dingli Law Firm; and Professor Savior Formosa, who holds a PhD in Spatio-Temporal Criminology and is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Malta, are all part of the board of experts as well.

The board’s recommendations are to be presented directly to the Prime Minister who is then bound to table a copy thereof in Parliament within 10 days. 

The Committee will also examine the draft legislative amendments prepared by Government following the consultations carried out with key stakeholders. 

The legislative amendments submitted by the government to the committee concern a number of points. 

Chief amongst those are amendments to protect journalists against strategic lawsuits against public participation (which is an anti-SLAPP regulation) which will regulate situations where the execution of a judgment on defamation delivered by a court outside Malta is demanded in Malta and the judgment is executable in Malta under the other legal provisions on the enforcement of foreign judgments in Malta.

An amendment to the Media and Defamation Act which addresses the situation where an author or an editor dies when civil proceedings for defamation have been commenced against the author or editor, or may be commenced or continued against the heirs, will also be presented. 

This would allow courts not to award any damages against the heirs of the deceased editor or author and also allows the court to discontinue the case as long as certain circumstances are met. 

An amendment to the Criminal Code, to provide for an increase in punishment for offences against a journalist attributable to the execution of the journalist’s functions has also been proposed. 

A proposed amendment to provide that in actions for defamation filed in terms of the Media and Defamation Act, payment of Court Registry fees will not be due upon the filing of the reply by the defendant is another measure, along with an amendment in the constitution to ensure that freedom and pluralism of the media and that importance of the role of journalists are respected. 

The committee of experts has two months to provide feedback on the proposed amendments. 

The appointment comes after meetings were held between Prime Minister Robert Abela and key stakeholders, including the Caruana Galizia family and their legal representatives, the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) and members of international organisations like Article 19.

A drop in the ocean - PN

The Nationalist Party welcomed the appointment of the committee, but said that it is just a drop in the ocean, a weak reaction to the bills recently put forward by Opposition Leader Bernard Grech.

"In Robert Abela's announcement, There are no concrete measures that: fight against institutionalised corruption; list the government's duties in the interest of the common good; address the disruption in the administration of justice; regulate government abuse during an electoral campaign; Provide for the creation of new crimes as per the law against mafia-style criminal association; provide the Criminal Courts with the power to issue an unexplained wealth order against politicians and criminals; Provide better tools to the Police in the investigation of serious crimes; anchor the right to free media in the constitution."

The PN said that this is a very small step for a government in panic.