An attempt by Yorgen Fenech to have Superintendent Keith Arnaud removed from the investigation into the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was rejected by a judge on Wednesday.

Fenech is charged with being a mastermind in the murder of the journalist with a car bomb in October 2017.

Fenech claimed that Arnaud had a conflict of interest due to his relationship with Keith Schembri, the former Prime Minister's chief of staff, and a former acquaintance of Fenech. The case had been filed in the constitutional court against the State Advocate, the Home Affairs Minister and Arnaud.

Schembri had allegedly told Fenech that Arnaud had sought his assistance in getting his wife employed. Arnaud’s wife was subsequently employed by Infrastructure Malta in January 2019, Fenech had said.

In his application, Fenech claimed that Arnaud had provided information about the murder investigation to Schembri.

Mr Justice Lawrence Mintoff rejected Fenech's claims, stating that he had not exhausted his ordinary remedies before filing the constitutional case.

The court said that Fenech should have filed a criminal complaint and challenged the case before the Magistrates' Courts if he had incriminating evidence against Schembri.

It also noted that Fenech's claims could have been addressed in a practical, efficient, and effective manner had he followed the correct legal procedures.

The defendants were declared non-suited, with the court ruling that only the police commissioner was the correct defendant as he was ultimately the one responsible for the investigation.