In Malta, while increased resources have been allocated to investigation and prosecution overall, investigations into high-level corruption cases remain lengthy, the European Commission said in its annual report on the rule of law.

Journalists also continue to face obstacles when requesting access to information held by public authorities, the report said.

The annual Rule of Law Report is central to the EU’s efforts to have a practical impact on promotion and safeguarding of the rule of law in the EU.

This third edition of the report takes the next step in the Commission’s investment in the rule of law as the first to include specific recommendations to Member States, as announced by President von der Leyen in the 2021 State of the Union address.

In line with the preventive nature of the report, the objective of the recommendations is to support Member States in their efforts to take forward ongoing or planned reforms, to encourage positive developments, and to help them identify where improvements or follow-up to recent changes or reforms may be needed, also with a view to address systemic challenges in certain cases.

In drawing up the recommendations, the Commission said it has paid close attention to keeping them focused and anchored in European law and standards, while also respecting the specificity of national legal systems.

In the report the commission urged Malta to reduce the time it takes to conduct high-level corruption investigations and complete court proceedings.

"It is recommended to Malta to strengthen efforts to improve the efficiency of justice, particularly to reduce the length of proceedings," the Commission said.

"Despite increased resources allocated to investigative and prosecution bodies, the investigation of high-level corruption cases remains lengthy. Results in terms of final judgments are still lacking," the Commission said.

In addition to recalling the commitments made under the national Recovery and Resilience Plan relating to certain aspects of the justice system and the anti-corruption framework, the commission recommended Malta to:

• Address the need for involvement of the judiciary in the procedure for appointment of the Chief Justice, taking into account European standards on judicial appointments and the opinion of the Venice Commission.

• Strengthen efforts to improve the efficiency of justice, particularly to reduce the length of proceedings.

• Address challenges related to the length of investigations of high-level corruption cases, including by establishing a robust track record of final judgments.

• Advance with the introduction of legislative and other safeguards to improve the working environment of journalists, including on access to official documents, taking into account European standards on the protection of journalists.

• Strengthen the rules and mechanisms to enhance the independent governance and editorial independence of public service media taking into account European standards on public service media.

• Re-launch efforts to establish a National Human Rights Institution taking into account the UN Paris Principles.

The full report on Malta may be found here

Government reaction

Reacting, the government said the EU report had noted several positive developments that have taken place. 

These include the launch of the first Digital Justice Strategy, the strengthening of the Attorney General’s prosecutorial powers, the strengthening of the independence of specialised tribunals and an increase in resources dedicated to anti-corruption investigations. 

The report also noted that the process to implement the recommendations of the Daphne public inquiry has begun. It has also noted the progress made in the criminal proceedings related to the murder. 

The government said it will be analysing the recommendations made in the report, some of which it has already started working on. 

Other recommendations have already been implemented, such as the appointment of the chief justice. 

The government said it is remains committed to improve the efficiency of the courts by investing more in its infrastructure and human resources. 

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said the strengthening of the rule of law was, is and will remain at the top of the government’s agenda. 

Attard said the government is committed to ensure that justice is carried out within a “reasonable” time, so that justice will not only be done, but will also be seen to be done.

Nationalist Party reaction

The Nationalist Party reacted to the report by saying that it was another confirmation about how the Labour government had “failed massively” in the justice sector.

The party said in a statement that the report confirms that the government has neither the will nor the interest to improve the justice sector in Malta, and instead considers the current shortcomings as a guarantee that those who are guilty of abuse of power, corruption, and other serious crimes will not get what they deserve.

The PN called on the government to implement the recommendations of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry, including the Unexplained Wealth Orders for politicians; start a magisterial office responsible specifically for investigations into corruption, and holistically reform the Attorney General’s office.

The statement reads that the PL has chosen to ignore these proposals and has also failed to put forward any measures to reduce the delays in the country’s courts, where there are over 15,000 cases of a criminal nature still pending.

The statement was signed by the PN’s justice spokesperson Karol Aquilina.