The Government has distanced itself from accusations by a former ambassador that the European Court of Human Rights had been manipulated by pro-migrant groups.
A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said the opinions expressed by Joseph Licari, a former ambassador to the Council of Europe, were his personal views and “definitely not” the Government’s.
Last month, Mr Licari twice accused the Strasbourg court of being manipulated into passing judgments against Malta in two cases brought before it by asylum seekers.
In an article penned for The Sunday Times of Malta, Mr Licari accused the ECHR of widening its remit in asylum and immigration cases by “a controversially liberal interpretation of its powers”.
Mr Licari should be held personally responsible for the accusations
He insisted there were indications of “over-reliance on less qualified and more passionate staff members” and this reflected on the quality of judgments.
Using disparaging words such as “inside job” and lamenting the court’s reliance on secondary sources, Mr Licari said the poor quality of judgments was evident in the Suso Musa and Aden Ahmed cases, where Malta was ordered to pay compensation. His comments came in the wake of Government’s threat in July to push back a group of rescued migrants that was stopped by a temporary injunction issued by the ECHR.
The controversy was reignited this week when Council of Europe secretary general Thorbjørn Jagland informed the Committee of Ministers, a grouping of the 47 countries’ ambassadors, about a letter he had sent to the Maltese Foreign Ministry.
Mr Jagland told ambassadors at the weekly meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday that he sought clarifications from the Government of Malta on whether Mr Licari’s comments reflected the country’s official position.
A spokesman for Mr Jagland told Times of Malta yesterday that Malta’s ambassador had responded there and then that Mr Licari’s comments were his private views and not the Government’s.
“The oral response was deemed to be satisfactory,” the spokesman said, adding the letter was sent at the beginning of the week.
Mr Jagland has a statutory obligation to protect staff members if they are harmed, without fault or negligence on their part, by actions directed against them for being staff members of the organisation.
“In view of the public and wholly unsubstantiated nature of the statements by Ambassador Licari, alleging a failure to respect the duty of independence and impartiality by a staff member, I was therefore obliged to raise the issue with the authorities of Malta in order to make sure these attacks do not represent an official position of the Government,” Mr Jagland said.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said George Vella replied to Mr Jagland’s letter assuring him that Mr Licari’s words did not in any way represent the Government’s official position.
Answering questions by this newspaper, the spokesman insisted Mr Licari should be held “personally responsible” for the accusations.
“The minister expressed regret at the situation and reiterated the Government’s sustained support of the important role played by the Council of Europe,” the spokesman said.
Dr Vella also expressed the Government’s commitment to the principles and mandate of the organisation, he added.
ksansone@timesofmalta.com