316 issued in 10 years

If you have been caught breaching hunting laws or have been convicted of cheating on your VAT return you might want to consider applying for a presidential pardon.

According to the Justice and Home Affairs Ministry, in fact, a total of 316 pardons were dished out over the past 10 years in relation to traffic contraventions, hunting and trapping offences, fines for school absenteeism, seizure of hunting shotguns, driving licence suspension but, mostly, VAT-related offences.

Most of the pardons were issued under this Administration, over the past five years. Since 2003, in fact, 243 pardons have been granted.

In 1997, under a Labour government, 35 pardons were issued. Four pardons were granted in 1998.

The highest number of pardons - 109 - was granted in 2005 with 108 pardons, 85 of which being VAT related. The next highest number was 45 in 2005, followed by the 35 pardons granted in 1997.

The information comes in the wake of the recent controversy surrounding the request for a presidential pardon by two officials of the Malta Transport Authority convicted of bribery.

Beyond high profile cases, however, the reality of presidential pardons is much more mundane.

In 2000, for instance, a Lm700 VAT-related fine was pardoned, after the tax due was paid. Other pardons are granted for offences as trivial as a Lm4.85 traffic fine, for instance, in 1997, along with another petty fine of Lm5.95 fine imposed in connection with school absenteeism.

Traffic offences are now being dealt by a board specifically set up for this purpose.

Legal sources say the high proportion of tax-related pardons is connected to the fact that the laws regulating VAT are too stringent. Magistrates often do not have the option to give a probation. A fine is, therefore, imposed and lawyers then seek a remedy through the presidential pardon mechanism.

Answering questions by The Times, the ministry said it did not have statistics available regarding the number of pardons refused over this past decade. However, over these past three-and-a-half years, the ministry said that out of 254 requests, about 113 were turned down.

The presidential pardon, regulated by the Constitution, is per practice granted specifically on the government's advice.

They are usually of two types: Those lodged by individuals and general pardons, known as amnesties, which apply to groups. The last amnesty was granted in 2000 on the occasion of the new millennium.