Declarations made by the Ombudsman in a letter to the President are against the law, the Commission for the Administration of Justice said in a letter to Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino today.
In a reply, the Ombudsman disagreed and said he was convinced that his interpretation of the law in his letter had been "correct, valid and sustainable".
In its letter, the Commission referred to Judge Said Pullicino’s letter, in which he called for Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco’s suspension.
Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco has since filed a criminal libel suit against the Ombudsman.
In its letter to the Ombudsman, the Commission said that the Ombudsman’s Act did not apply to the judiciary and the Commission, so the Ombudsman did not have jurisdiction on the functions, duties and conduct of judges and the Commission and he did not have the power to give an opinion on this. This was solely within the functions of the Commission.
This meant that the declarations Judge Said Pullicino made regarding the Commission, the Chief Justice and Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco were against the law, it said.
But Judge Said Pullicino said he could not agree with the commission that his opinion was in any way against the law. He said he was convinced that his interpretation of the law was correct, valid and sustainable.
The commission, he said, could be of a different opinion but his opinion had been given in the best interest of the administration of justice.
Judge Said Pullicino said it was not his intention to create disagreement between two Constitutional authorities as this could only have a negative effect on justice.
So with respect to the superior authority of the President, he was to stop from giving comments on this sad case.
Both the Commission’s and the Ombudsman's letters can be read in the pdf links below.
Attached files