NGO Repubblika said Saturday that the investigation by the Standards Commissioner on Rosianne Cutajar had found irregularities but he could not proceed against her because the case was time-barred.

In a statement Saturday, the NGO said it had filed a complaint with the commissioner after Cutajar’s omission to list income from a consultancy job with the Institute of Tourism Studies.

Repubblika condemned Cutajar for her “celebration” that she had been exonerated by the commissioner and that the complaint filed against had been a “vengeful invention”.

The NGO published the commissioner’s conclusion, which confirmed that Cutajar had been employed as an ITS consultant when she was an MP. The commissioner had found that Cutajar had not declared her income from this appointment, contrary to her obligations at law. This was a breach of the code of ethics, Repubblika said.

The commissioner however closed her case without taking further action because the code of ethics imposes a one year period during which complaints can be filed. Although in this case knowledge about the breach had been available more than a year after it took place, the commissioner is not in a position to proceed on the complaint.

Repubblika said the commissioner expressed regret that he has to follow this limitation and suggested that this period of time is extended. Unethical behaviour does not become acceptable if it is hidden for 12 months or more.

The commissioner also referred to a recommendation that MPs should not be employed by the government or act as consultants.

Cutajar broke existing rules and she will not be punished only because she hid this shortcoming for more than a year, Repubblika said.

Worse than this, the commissioner said there is a reason why Cutajar hid her consultancy. “Potentially, there could have been issues whether the contract was genuine or otherwise, that is whether Cutajar really acted as a consultant that justifies her employment with ITS.”

The commissioner said he did not go deeper into the matter because it was not the subject of the complaint that was filed.

Through these consultancies, the government is compromising and corrupting its own MPs to ensure their loyalty while ignoring a cardinal principle of democracy – the separation of powers between the government and Parliament.

Repubblika endorsed the commissioner’s recommendation that MPs should not hide behind time-barring to cover their offences. This is not a court of law which establishes guilt or innocence of a crime. Breach of ethics is a process that should determine the behaviour of a politician, exemplary or otherwise. It is never good behaviour to lie in a declaration to Parliament on money received from a government appointment.

Once again, Cutajar had behaved improperly, and her place should not be in politics, Repubblika said.

The commissioner's decision can be found here