The Criminal Court has instructed police to examine testimony given during Yorgen Fenech's murder trial to determine whether it contains evidence that could lead to criminal proceedings against other people.
The order was issued by Judge Edwina Grima in her judgment acquitting Fenech on Wednesday, after a nine-member jury found him not guilty of both charges by eight votes to one.
Fenech had been charged with complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia and with associating with others to commit a crime. The prosecution had sought a life sentence on the murder charge and a prison term of between 20 and 30 years on the second charge.
Despite the acquittal, the judgment has triggered further scrutiny of evidence that emerged during the lengthy trial.
Judge Grima ordered that copies of testimony given during the proceedings be handed to the Police Commissioner so that investigators could assess whether any third parties may be liable for criminal proceedings.
The court also ordered that the evidence be placed in two existing judicial inquiries.
One inquiry is examining the alleged leaking of information by public officials in connection with the investigation into Caruana Galizia's murder. The other concerns the October 16, 2017 car bomb explosion in Bidnija which killed the journalist.
The orders mean that evidence aired during Fenech's trial will now be available to investigators for further examination, potentially opening new lines of inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the murder.
The development came after eight hours of jury deliberations on Wednesday.
The eight-to-one verdict cleared the former Tumas Group CEO of both charges brought against him, but Judge Grima's order ensures that the evidence heard during the trial will not simply end with the acquittal.
Instead, police have been tasked with examining whether testimony and other evidence presented during the proceedings point to possible criminal wrongdoing by people other than Fenech.
In reply, the government said it had noted the Court's decision, as set out in the judgment, ordering that a copy of the testimony given during the trial be transmitted to two ongoing magisterial inquiries, as well as its decision to notify the Commissioner of Police of the same testimony in order to determine whether any third parties may be liable to criminal proceedings.
The government reaffirmed its commitment to continue providing all the necessary resources to ensure that the country's institutions are able to carry out their functions fully and effectively.
"As it did yesterday, the Government once again calls for prudence and caution in the wake of the judgment, particularly in view of the fact that a specific legal time limit connected to the criminal proceedings is still running, and also the Court's decision in its judgment.
"In this context, nothing should be said or done that could prejudice ongoing judicial or investigative processes."
The government said it remains committed to ensuring that justice is administered by the country's institutions with full respect for the rule of law.