There is a difference between a minister and a governor of a Central Bank, Edward Scicluna said when asked why he did not resign after being charged in court in connection with the inquiry into the hospitals deal.

Scicluna was speaking to the media as he walked into the courtroom on Wednesday for the first sitting in the compilation of evidence against him and others.

He said he will not go into the merits of the case. The inquiry is clear. It has been published, whoever wants to see it, can, he said. “It will be the courts to decide.”

“With regard to the resignation of a governor,” he said, “there is a great difference between a governor and a minister. A minister is… the prerogative of the Prime Minister… in the case of a governor of a Central Bank in a European system…

“This is governed by a European treaty and by the statute of the European Central Bank… They have to decide, to take a position… there are strict conditions so that there is no interference from the government, opposition or NGO regarding a resignation.”

Scicluna concluded his short address to the media in a rather convoluted way.

“After the governor’s council, if the conditions are broken, one goes to the European Court of Justice,” he said, as he walked away without taking questions.