(Adds PN statement)
Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino today opened legal proceedings against the Home Affairs Ministry over the ongoing army complaints dispute.
Both sides have been at loggerheads for almost a year about which authority has jurisdiction to look into complaints filed by army officers on issues of promotions, salaries and pension rights.
While the Ombudsman is insisting that he has every right to look into such cases, the Home Affairs Ministry is arguing that officers can seek redress by lodging a complaint to the President and not the Ombudsman
In his application, filed this morning, Dr Said Pullicino called on the court to declare the Ombudsman had the right to investigate such complaints. He also requested the court to order the Home Affairs Ministry to provide all required documentation, to enable the Ombudsman to investigate these cases.
In addition the Ombudsman is also requesting the court to declare the Permanent Secretary of the Home Affairs Ministry guilty of contempt against his office as he had refused to present the requested documentation.
The application was signed by Dr Henri Mizzi.
The dispute revolves about a number of controversial army promotions which had been handed out in September 2013.
Though both sides have been on the warpath for months, the unexpected resignation of Manuel Mallia last December has fuelled hopes that the issue might be resolved. However, following various meetings no progress was registered, prompting the Ombudsman to seek a court ruling.
In a statement this afternoon, Nationalist Party deputy leader Beppe Fenech Adami said the case had been opened because of the government's insistence not to allow the Ombudsman to scrutinise promotions in the army, most of them abusive.
This was undermining the Ombudsman's work and it was shameful that the government, in spite of having a new Home Affairs Minister, was not capable of disassociating itself from the mistakes and arrogance of former minister Manuel Mallia and persisted on damaging the army's reputation, currently at its lowest levels.
In a reply, the government said it respected the Office of the Ombudsman and all institutions.
It said it was following the same system adopted by the previous government - that complaints by army officials were first moved to the army commander and then taken to the President, according to law.
The ministry, however, remained available for dialogue with the Office of the Ombudsman.
This government, the statement said, had always worked to address injustices and create boards to offer remedies for past injustices in the army.