New Constitution should acknowledge Creator of the Universe, says Kmiec

Former US Ambassador Douglas Kmiec yesterday urged the Maltese to acknowledge “the Creator of the Universe” at the start of the Constitution.

Giving a keynote speech at the second edition of the President’s Forum at the Palace, which discussed ways of improving the Constitution, Prof. Kmiec proposed a preamble that summarises “the great principles” guiding Malta.

He suggested opening with: “Respectful of the Creator of the Universe and His abundant blessings, we do ordain by this Constitution a Republic by, for and of the people of Malta founded upon respect for human rights, the human family and the fundamental importance of human labour in service of the peace and comfort of all.”

This “picture of the Maltese” was something he yearned for when reading the document, he said.

Prof. Kmiec is a devout Catholic who resigned in 2011 after he was chastised by the US State Department for spending too much time promoting his faith.

He said that beyond the pragmatic definitions of the functions of the President, the Prime Minister and other constitutional roles, the Constitution should be a “commitment” to faith, the family, human labour and neutrality.

He said the Maltese helped him appreciate the value of neutrality, which is not to be neutral to the great issue of the day but open to hear and digest all ideas appropriately.

Prof. Kmiec also stressed the Constitution should be readable and accessible so that even schoolchildren could understand it. It should use an “economy of words” because the more words it contained, “the more mischief it would invite”.

Before Prof. Kmiec’s speech, President George Abela opened the Forum with a tribute to the late Fr Peter Serracino Inglott, who was meant to attend the event and had “very clear” ideas of what he wanted to propose.

“In fact, the questions we are posing during the conference were inspired directly by Fr Peter,” Dr Abela said, before stopping for a minute’s silence.

Dr Abela said Malta’s constitution was almost 50 years old and like any legislation it must stay alive and respond to the changes in society.

“We need to see if we have ended up with a permanent bi-partisan system and whether we can perfect the electoral law to assure more precise proportionality,” he added before asking questions to inspire the debate.

Dr Abela queried whether the current Constitution should be amended or replaced altogether and whether any changes should be approved through a referendum or simply through Parliament.

He also asked whether Malta should retain the parliamentary system or be replaced by a presidential system.

He went on: “Should the President be given more of a say in the administration of the country? Should the Executive continue to form part of Parliament? And if so, how can we strengthen the scrutiny of the Executive by Parliament?”

Dr Abela also asked whether neutrality still had a place in Malta’s Constitution and whether Malta’s EU membership should be reflected.

The Forum – chaired by John Grech – featured other speakers including EU studies professor Roderick Pace, history professor Dominic Fenech, EU expert Stefano Mallia and constitutional law professor Ian Refalo.