Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino said yesterday that Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco had told him in 1998 he would resign from president of the Malta Olympic Committee that same year.
“This was one of the reasons why the first code of ethics for judges was drawn up,” Dr Said Pullicino, now the Ombudsman, said.
He was testifying in his defence during the libel case initiated against him by Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco, who has been president of the MOC since 1999 and now faces an impeachment motion over allegations that followed the findings of the Ethics Commission of the International Olympic Committee on an investigation by undercover journalists from The Sunday Times of London into the sale of Olympic Games tickets.
The suit is based on a letter the Ombudsman sent to the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice and the media saying that the judge should be relieved of his judicial duties until he cleared his name.
Dr Said Pullicino yesterday defended his decision to write the letter, stressing that it was done in his role as Ombudsman and that he acted in good faith as he feared the case might negatively affect public perception on the judiciary.
“To me the IOC incident is irrelevant. I hope there is no shadow of guilt on him in the end but 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 said it hurt him to hear allegations that he acted maliciously and that his letter was politically motivated.
His views were reflected by the Prime Minster and the Opposition Leader, he said.
Dr Said Pullicino added that he believed Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco should have decided to stop hearing any cases 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.
According to the judiciary’s code of ethics, a sitting member is not allowed to hold any other office, even on a volun-tary basis.
The Ombudsman said he was not consulted when Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco was appointed judge. This, he added, applied to the appointment of other judges too.
“Unfortunately, this is one of the problems we had and still have with the manner in which magistrates and judges are appointed,” he said, adding that he had a good working relationship with Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco when he used to serve as Chief Justice.
The case continues.