‘Private lives of judiciary should not give rise to gossip’

Magistrates and judges should steer away from behaviour that could give rise to gossip since this is harmful, according to outgoing Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano.

In an interview with The Sunday Times, the Chief Justice said members of the judiciary should “know the limits of what one can do”.

“Although members of the judiciary are entitled to a private life they must behave in a manner so as not to give way to gossip or possibly scandal. Not everything legal is necessarily appropriate,” he said.

His comments come in the wake of the controversy earlier this year when the private life of a magistrate came under the spotlight.

Without entering into the merits of any particular cases the Chief Justice said that although gambling at a casino was not illegal, a magistrate or a judge engaging in such activity would be harming his reputation because “it is not the kind of behaviour you would expect from a member of the judiciary”.

However, he admitted it was not always easy to say where the line of demarcation lies: “Very often you would know when the line has been overstepped when it has been grossly overstepped.”

Chief Justice DeGaetano, who took over the post after the bribery cases involving former Chief Justice Noel Arrigo and Judge Patrick Vella, will be replaced by Attorney General Silvio Camilleri.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com