Attorney General Peter Grech rejected a request by this newspaper to see the report of the magisterial inquiry into the Paqpaqli għall-Istrina car show incident.
In a briefing for the press on Saturday, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici listed some conclusions from the 1,700-page report. Subsequently, the Times of Malta asked the Attorney General for a copy. The reply was giving a copy to the newspaper would not be “appropriate”.
“This office is currently at a rather delicate stage of analysing the contents and findings of the magisterial inquiry in detail with a view of deciding on the charges,” Dr Grech said.
“I do not consider that the release of information about the inquiry that would go beyond the information already made available to journalists for the purpose of a press briefing on the gist of the main findings would be appropriate at this stage,” he added.
Dr Grech said that once the inquiry report was exhibited in court it would be available to the prosecution and to the defence.
According to law, it is the Attorney General who decides whether a copy of an inquiry report should be passed on to those involved in the investigation.
In normal circumstances, magisterial inquiry reports are not made public before they are presented in court. However, the reports on magisterial inquiries in both the car show tragedy and the PlusOne club banister collapse in Paceville were forwarded to the Justice Minister.
Dr Bonnici released the report on the Paceville incident and even handed over copies to the press but opted to be selective in the Paqpaqli case. In the latter case, journalists were given a two-page document containing a number of conclusions.
This office is currently at a rather delicate stage of analysing the contents
According to a summary prepared by the Justice Ministry, the inquiry identified British driver Paul Bailey as the main person to be blamed for the incident in which 23 people were injured. The minister said that, on a secondary level, 11 members of the organising committee were also to blame and charges would be brought against them.
Dr Bonnici pointed out that the inquiry exonerated President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca from any responsibility on grounds that she was not in any way involved in the organisation of the event or in any of the preparatory meetings.
Criminal lawyers who spoke to this newspaper yesterday expressed surprise at the way the Attorney General and Dr Bonnici handled the magisterial inquiries in question.
“Although the Attorney General enjoys discretion, it is not on that such inquiry reports are passed on to the Minister of Justice who then chooses what to publish and what not,” a senior law practitioner said.
“The problem with the recent unpublished inquiry is that the minister, who is extraneous to the case, decided what is important to publish and what is not. That is not fair, at least with whoever is involved in the case,” another lawyer said.
The police are expected to press charges shortly. Civil cases can also be initiated by the victims claiming damages.