The State Advocate, Attorney General and Police Commissioner said they had no power to take action against those involved in the hospitals’ deal.

In counter-protests replying to the judicial protest filed by the Nationalist Party last week, the AG, State Advocate and police chief said they were not empowered in terms of the functions of their respective offices to do what the PN had requested.

Last week, Opposition leader Bernard Grech and MP Adrian Delia had filed a judicial protest calling on the authorities to take action against those "who had defrauded the Maltese people". 

Grech, speaking outside the law courts in Valletta, had said that the Opposition continued pressuring for a police investigation to take place and for the needed steps to be taken, "after last week the judgement by the Court of Appeal condemned the government, and also foreign contractors which the government was in collusion with to take the three hospitals and €400 million which belongs to the Maltese people.".

The two counter-protests were filed Wednesday before the First Hall, Civil Court. 

The State Advocate - who is the chief legal advisor to the government – argued that he had already done all he could by acting upon the government’s instructions in arbitration proceedings between Steward Health Care and the government. 

Steward Health Care had taken over the concession to run the three hospitals from Vitals Global Healthcare. A court of law in February had rescinded the deal and an Appeals Court had confirmed the judgment last October.

Arbitration proceedings between the two parties - the government and Steward - were still pending. The law did not grant the State Advocate the power to take action on his own steam as Grech and Delia were requesting him to do.

In a separate counter protest, the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner jointly argued that the functions of their respective offices were clearly defined by law and did not allow them to take the kind of action that the PN requested.

It was argued that the AG, as the state’s chief prosecutor, could not institute civil proceedings to claim damages. The functions of the AG office, it was argued, did not empower its holder to investigate allegations related to criminal offences.

The Police Commissioner’s role was to enforce criminal law and not to file civil proceedings. The commissioner noted that he has been assisting the Magistrate handling the inquiry into the alleged crimes.

Lawyer Julian Farrugia signed the State Advocate’s counter protest.

Lawyers James D’Agostino and Miguel Degabriele signed the counter protest by the AG and Police Commissioner.