Justice Minister Owen Bonnici was non-committal about a proposal by the justice reform commission, which was later dropped, on a register of assets for judges and magistrates.
In contrast, shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi declared that the Opposition was in favour of more transparency and agreed, “in principle”, such a register should be in place.
The Times of Malta has reported that two magistrates were still listed by the Malta Financial Services Authority as acting as board secretaries to private companies and that some judges and magistrates held shares in private commercial entities. It resulted that one of the two magistrates had resigned as board secretary soon after his appointment to the Bench but his name still appeared on the MFSA website.
“The proposal for a register or declaration of assets of members of the judiciary was not included in the final Bonello report, on which the justice reform is ultimately based,” Dr Bonnici said when contacted by this newspaper.
“When presented with the opportunity to come up with proposals during the consultation process preceding the final Bonello report, the Opposition opted for silence and failed to make any proposals,” he added.
The publication of assets and gifts strengthens credibility in the eyes of society
Dr Azzopardi said the Nationalist Party agreed in principle on the need for a register in order to add transparency.
“The publication of assets and gifts received in the course of the exercise of judicial duties augments transparency in an unprecedented manner and thus significantly strengthens the credibility of the judiciary in the eyes of society,” Dr Azzopardi said.
“As to the manner of the publication of the register and to whom it is rendered accessible, that can be the subject of detailed deliberation and discussed in more detail,” added.
In its draft proposals in 2013, the government-appointed justice reform commission had originally proposed the setting up of a register of assets by members of the judiciary where they could declare their business connections, if any, including shares held.
However, the proposal was dropped in the final set of recommendations following submissions by the judiciary, which, although agreeing in principle, asked that the same measure applied to other senior public officials.
Giovanni Bonello, a former European Court of Human Rights judge who presided over the commission, said that the participation of members of the judiciary in business “should not be tolerated”.
Asked why the register of assets proposal was dropped, Dr Bonello said that when dealing with the criteria for the selection of judges and magistrates, the commission had stated that “one of the qualifying factors for admittance to the judiciary shall be the absence of commercial activities in business in the candidate”.
The dean of the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta, Kevin Aquilina, agreed that a register of assets would ensure more transparency.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com