The former Faculty of Law Dean, Kevin Aquilina, has said that an independent judicial inquiry should be appointed to investigate the running, output and performance of the Attorney General and her office.

The inquiry should be appointed to investigate the performance of the Attorney General – Victoria Buttigieg – before any possible proceedings to remove her from her post are kicked off, Aquilina said in an opinion piece penned in today’s The Malta Independent.

Aquilina explains that the board should be composed of retired judges, who have presided over or sat in criminal courts, and/or former Attorney Generals, so that these individuals are both impartial and knowledgeable about the role and duties of the Attorney General.

“The inquiry should not restrict itself into investigating the performance of the Attorney General, or of investigating one particular court case that has caught the attention of a Police Union, a political party, a civil society organization, or any other person. It should investigate the whole workings of the Attorney General’s Office,” Aquilina said.

He said that the inquiry should have bi-partisan support, but should also be held behind closed doors due to confidential information, which the Board may become privy to over the course of it’s investigations.

However, it’s conclusions should be published on the same day that they are handed to the Office of the Prime Minister, Aquilina said.

Attorney General Victoria Buttigieg has come under significant pressure once again, after two major high-profile blunders in the past week.

The first was a mix-up in a referral note, which allowed two of Yorgen Fenech’s lawyers to be cleared of allegedly trying to bribe a journalist, and the second was the submittal of incomplete documentation to a court, which ultimately led to the collapse of extradition proceedings for a man wanted in Italy due to his alleged involvement in a drug trafficking ring.

 

The full article may be seen here