Matthew Xuereb
Fenech Adami declines to express opinion on Arrigo jail sentence
Noel Arrigo being driven into court for sentencing last Thursday.
President Emeritus Eddie Fenech Adami yesterday said he did not think he should comment on the jail sentence handed to former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo, but added he respected the trial judge's judgment.
The disgraced former Chief Justice was last Thursday sentenced to two years and nine months' imprisonment for accepting an €11,500 bribe to reduce a jail term of convicted drug trafficker Mario Camilleri, known as l-Imnieħru. The maximum sentence was four years and three months.
Dr Fenech Adami, who had made the corruption case public when he was Prime Minister in August 2002, said when contacted: "The primary significance of the judgment is that no one is above the law. I have no doubt that the judge took everything into consideration when he was preparing the punishment. I don't think I should comment on whether it was enough, but I have full confidence that the judge knew what he was doing."
Dr Arrigo was not sent to Corradino Prison but is being temporarily kept at the Forensic Unit of Mount Carmel mental hospital on doctors' orders. He has been diagnosed to be suffering from depression and has other health problems, according to medical sources.
Sources said Dr Arrigo was on medication and required constant attention.
Dr Fenech Adami said that some time before the press conference on August 1, 2002, Police Commissioner John Rizzo had gone to his office and had given him the police recordings.
During that news conference, called at short notice, Dr Fenech Adami had told the media Dr Arrigo and another judge, Patrick Vella, were being investigated in connection with bribery offences for reducing the jail term.
"I was very sad indeed. I would describe it as the saddest moment in my career as a politician and even as a lawyer.
"It was very frustrating," he said. The corruption case had shocked the Maltese judicial system. Asked whether he thought the harm had been undone, Dr Fenech Adami said he believed so.
"I think the Maltese judicial system managed to shake off the damage that was done. The Maltese still have a lot of confidence in the administration of the law courts and this was just the odd case out.
"That is why I think so many people felt so bad about all this."
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Nick Borg
Nov 29th 2009, 19:56
pt 2...
Can someone please tell me what the average time for a case to be heard in our courts is? I will be amazed if it is less than 5 years, and that is without Appeal, which seems to be the standard here...
Vote of No confidence no1 here...
Nick Borg
Nov 29th 2009, 19:52
"I think the Maltese judicial system managed to shake off the damage that was done. The Maltese still have a lot of confidence in the administration of the law courts and this was just the odd case out."
With all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about, although you live in a world where doors open a lot more easily. For the rest of us mere mortals, It is a well know fact that if you are wrong, you take the matter to court as the chances of getting off scot free or with a slap on the wrists are pretty good. There is no justice in the courts, and the time it takes for the attempt at justice to be decided on is criminal in itself.
If there is a complaint about a judges' handling of a case, or his undue delay, any idea what the remedy is? Yes - you guessed right.. absolutely NONE! You can be kept waiting for years without so much as a hearing should the judge assigned to the case not feel like making a decision. Is that justice? pt1...
Galea. L
Nov 29th 2009, 14:59
J Martinelli
You are wrong Martinelli, but thanks for your consideration that he probably decided to do so because since as you said I would have been the first one to criticize him, this means that my comments really hit home.
But just to correct you he just wanted to gain political mileage when his government was being criticized left, right and centre on so many failings typical of PN governments.
J Martinelli
Nov 29th 2009, 14:13
@ Galea. L
...because if EFA had taken his time announcing the case, you would have probably been the first one to accuse him of an attempted 'cover-up'!
@ Franco Farrugia
Goes to prove that EFA had no prophetic powers because if he had any, he certainly would have saved himself the burden of announcing the case to the public. Which administration did not appoint what later turned out to be bad apples? From Police Commissioners, to Heads of Departments, Customs Officers and indeed Ministers in a certain era, were not 'one-off' cases. It was organized State sponsored corruption at its worst!
Galea. L
Nov 29th 2009, 12:57
Then why did he choose to call an urgent press conference to publicly announce the case?
Franco Farrugia
Nov 29th 2009, 11:48
Well, if memory still serves me well, it was a Nationalist adminsitration, headed by EFA, that chose Noel Arrigo to serve as Chief Justice.