Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco will face impeachment proceedings in Parliament after the judiciary watchdog found there was a prima facie case against him.

However, according to sources the recommendation by the Commission for the Administration of Justice has little to do with the judge’s involvement in the Olympic ticketing scandal that triggered the investigation.

In what will probably read like a ‘we told you so’ judgment, the commission found Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco’s behaviour inappropriate after he ignored repeated warnings that his former role at the helm of the Malta Olympic Committee breached the judiciary’s code of ethics.

It is not the judge’s actions in the ticketing scandal that swayed the commission

“It is not the judge’s actions in the ticketing scandal that swayed the commission but more the fact that his position as MOC president landed him in the eye of controversy despite past warnings,” the source said.

Until yesterday the commission had not yet officially communicated its decision to Speaker Anġlu Farrugia and the interested parties – the Prime Minister and Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco.

The Speaker said the ruling was not communicated to him.

The investigation was triggered by an impeachment motion filed in Parliament by then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi in December 2012, after the judge and MOC general secretary Joe Cassar were rapped by the International Olympic Committee in an investigation over the sale of Olympic tickets.

The investigation started after a probe by undercover reporters of The Sunday Times of London, who filmed a conversation with the two men after posing as ticket agents seeking to circumvent the official ticketing mechanism.

According to the law, the commission is only bound to make a recommendation to the Speaker. The final decision on whether to remove a member of the judiciary from the Bench can only be taken after a vote in Parliament supported by two-thirds of MPs.

When still Opposition leader, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat had said he would abide by the commission’s conclusions.

Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco has received several warnings over his dual role as MOC president and member of the Bench.

In 2005, he was accused of breaching the code of ethics when taking over the role of president of St Joseph Band club in Ħamrun.

In 2008, after refusing to resign as president of the MOC, the commission publicly censured the judge and called for his immediate resignation from his role in the sports organisation.

In an unprecedented move, the commission had published a letter to the judge in which he was told that, so long as he kept his post, he was in breach of the code of ethics.

Despite this warning, the judge insisted on retaining both posts and in 2009 contested the post of MOC president again.

Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco retained the MOC post until last year when it came up for renewal and he did not contest the election.

The judge is expected to retire in August when he reaches the mandatory retirement age for members of the judiciary unless he resigns or is removed by Parliament before that.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com

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