The Law Commission was set up 37 years ago, under the Statute Law Revision Act. Besides working on the mammoth task of the Revised Edition of the Laws of Malta – the last edition of which was completed in 1984 – thanks to the Law Commission about 30 outdated laws and more than 100 legal notices were removed from the statute books, a process of consolidation of laws that had been overlooked for the previous 20 years. The Law Commissioner, Franco Debono, has also been working on the consolidation of Malta’s drug and electoral laws.

But the commission seems to be having problems moving ahead. It has not met for more than a year and the Justice Ministry has yet to replace two members who dropped out.

Lawyer Ramona Frendo resigned in March 2016, university professor Raymond Mangion, a legal historian, stopped attending meetings and Kevin Aquilina, dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University declined to renew his contract. When this newspaper asked the Ministry of Justice when the commission would be reconstituted or steps taken to ensure it continues with its previous work to review laws, no answers were forthcoming.

The ministry pointed out, however, that the Law Commissioner had been assigned a specialised team of experts, known as the justice unit, in the performance of his functions and duties. As a result, it was pointed out, two laws and 21 legal notices were drafted from scratch. In addition, 34 amendments were promulgated during this legislature and ad hoc legal proposals for the consideration of the Ministry of Justice were submitted.

Yet, legal sources have indicated that the initial enthusiasm for the daunting task of conducting the first revision of the Laws of Malta has fizzled out and the commission is now effectively moribund.

This was practically confirmed by the Law Commissioner himself, saying he was disappointed that the work on the first revision of the Laws of Malta since 1984 had stalled.

It is clear the Law Commission is not fulfilling the role it was set up to do. What is not so clear is why that is not happening. Is the Law Commissioner not pushing hard enough? Is the Justice Ministry assuming full political responsibility by ensuring it is both able and willing to do its work?

At the end of the day, if the rule of law is being undermined by outdated or contradictory laws because of inactivity by the commission, it is ultimately up to the Justice Minister to see that it does. That could range from dissolving the Law Commission and launching a new initiative or giving it the means to function. As things stand, this is another manifesto promise which is about to be broken. But there is another manifesto commitment involving the Commissioner for Laws that has been stalled for the last four years. This concerns the government’s promise to hold a constitutional convention to take stock of the Constitution more than 50 years since its inception.

The issue has fallen foul of polarised politics, mainly dealing with the running of the convention by the Law Commissioner, whom the Opposition objects to.

There are two common denominators to the stasis now gripping the effectiveness of the Law Commission: the first is the position of the Law Commissioner himself, who carries a lot of political baggage. The second is the Minister for Justice. But the buck stops with the minister, who has no option but to take overdue action on these outstanding aspects.