Judges questioned late into the night

The police would be expected to charge "all concerned" if there were proof to support claims that Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and Judge Patrick Vella accepted thousands of liri in return for reducing a convicted man's prison sentence on appeal, Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet told The Times yesterday.

Dr Borg Barthet said: "I have not seen the evidence collected thus far, (but) if proof in support of the allegations exists, then the police would be expected to charge all concerned...

"A judge is like any other person and is subject to be tried in accordance with the criminal code."

Police sources said yesterday that the two judges were questioned late into the night on Thursday. Chief Justice Arrigo remained at police headquarters overnight and investigations continued yesterday.

Some individuals connected with the two judges were also questioned, but the police did not release any details.

The attorney general said he was not aware of a previous case in which a sitting judge had been tried.

The case was revealed by the prime minister at a press conference at his office in Castille on Thursday afternoon. He said Chief Justice Arrigo and Mr Justice Vella were being investigated by police over claims that they accepted money to reduce Mario Camilleri's sentence for drug trafficking from 16 to 12 years at an appeal hearing on July 5.

Dr Fenech Adami called a news conference after meeting President Guido de Marco and Labour leader Alfred Sant. In the evening, he called an urgent cabinet meeting.

At the press conference, Dr Fenech Adami said it was too early to say whether the judges would be asked to step down, but felt it necessary to add that they had not yet offered their resignation.

The case is being investigated by Police Commissioner John Rizzo, deputy commissioner Joseph Cachia, and assistant commissioner Michael Cassar.

The police investigations are not expected to disrupt the day-to-day work of the courts, since the higher courts only hear cases of an urgent nature between July 15 and September 15.

Camilleri was originally sentenced to 16 years imprisonment and fined Lm25,000 for regularly trafficking cocaine and possessing a firearm.

He had been arrested in July, 1997, during a major drug operation and has been in prison for the last five and a half years.

The appeal was heard by Chief Justice Arrigo, Mr Justice Vella and Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, though the latter is not implicated in the case.

The status of the appeal decision in Camilleri's case is not yet clear. Dr Borg Barthet said the law was silent about the possibility of a retrial in these circumstances.

"The matter will be further studied when the full facts of the case are known also in the light of the constitutional provision against double jeopardy."

Dr Borg Barthet explained a judge could only be removed from office by the President following a vote carried by a two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives.

On whether there were any plans to set up a commission or similar structure to review previous cases handled by the two judges, the attorney general said: "It is still early days to determine what should be done in that regard. Decisions will be taken as to the appropriate action to take when more facts are known."

Dr Borg Barthet was also asked whether Dr Fenech Adami was correct to effectively incriminate the two judges prior to a potential trial by saying that they had accepted the money in return for leniency.

"You should refer your question to the prime minister. Because of the independence enjoyed by the judiciary, it would be incumbent on the government to explain to the public that any investigation being carried out with regard to any judge is not vexatious or otherwise badly motivated," the attorney general said.

When contacted, Chamber of Advocates president Joe Azzopardi said the legal profession and the judiciary in particular had been shaken by the news.

"This is very serious for both the country and lawyers in general. It's a shock for all of us. The courts cannot afford to be stained in such a manner."

Dr Azzopardi urged the public to bear in mind that in the eyes of the law everyone should be considered innocent until proven guilty.

"I sincerely hope that the allegations are untrue. Yet I still believe that the damage to the profession's reputation has already been done. This is a blow to the administration of justice."

However, Dr Azzopardi said the law applied to everybody and judges could still be charged, whether it was for a parking ticket or more serious offences.

Legal sources said the government could not suspend a member of the judiciary, even in cases of corruption.

However, the government and the Commission for the Administration of Justice could recommend that no further cases be allocated to them until the investigations had been completed - even though this recommendation is normally made to the Chief Justice himself, the sources said.

"The major problem is that there is no provision in law for what has happened. Who is going to be the custodian for the custodian in this case?"

The Commission could also recommend the impeachment of the judges. The two judges could resign on their own accord or decline to take any of the future cases until the situation was resolved.

One short-term option for the government would be to appoint an acting chief justice, the sources said.

Asked whether the prime minister was correct in making a statement about the case at this stage, legal sources said that through his comments Dr Fenech Adami had taken the bull by the horns and stemmed any potential speculation.

President Guido de Marco, who is also the chairman of the Commission for the Administration of Justice, and Justice Minister Austin Gatt said they preferred not to comment about the case at this stage.