Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino this morning defended his decision to send a letter to the Prime Minster and the press saying that Maltese Olympic Committee president Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco should be temporarily relieved of his judicial duties.
In the letter, the Ombudsman – a former Chief Justice – said this should be the procedure until Dr Farrugia Sacco cleared his name over his alleged involvement in a scandal related to the sale of the Sochi Winter Olympic tickets.
This morning, Dr Said Pullicino took the witness stand in the libel case instituted against him by Justice Farrugia Sacco, who is facing an impeachment motion.
"To me the IOC incident is irrelevant... I hope there is no shadow of guilt on him in the end... what is relevant to me, as Ombudsman, is the effect that this had on the public and their perception of the judiciary," he said.
He insisted that it was the role of the Ombudsman to speak up if there was an issue that could impact the public's perception. He insisted that he acted in good faith.
He said that it hurt him to hear allegations that he had acted maliciously and that his letter was politically motivated. At the end of the day his views were reflected by the Prime Minster and Opposition leader, he said.
Dr Said Pullicino added he believed that Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco should have stepped down voluntarily until the issue was resolved.
"Unfortunately his behaviour led to action being taken against him. He went against directives given to him by the Commission for the Administration of Justice. There was also the issue of ethics," he said, adding that back in 1998, when he was Chief Justice, Dr Farrugia Sacco told him he would resign after the upcoming Olympic Games, but he did not.
This was one of the reasons why a code of ethics for the members of the judiciary was eventually drafted.
Asked why he did not act the same way in the case of judge Ray Pace, he said this was because the police had taken immediate action which automatically stopped the Ombudsman from commenting.
He said that he was not consulted before Dr Farrugia Sacco was made a judge. This, he said, applied in the case of other judges as well.
"Unfortunately this is one of the problems we had and still have in the manner in which magistrates and judges are appointed," he said, adding that he had a good working relationship with Justice Farrugia Sacco.