The dispute between the government and the Ombudsman on who has jurisdiction over complaints filed by members of the armed forces has come a step closer to ending up in a court of law .
The complaints, made last year, regard promotions, pay and pension rights.
Speaking at a House Business Committee meeting yesterday afternoon, the Ombudsman, Joseph Said Pullicino, said the Home Affairs Ministry had not come up with a solution.
While not committing himself on the next step, he said if the impasse was not cleared, the only solution left would be to take the issue to court to determine which institution has the jurisdiction to probe the complaints.
The committee was meeting to debate the Ombudsman’s Budget for next year and to discuss the main conclusions of his yearly report, which was tabled in Parliament last October. The Ombudsman said recent correspondence sent by the ministry indicated that a solution for future complaints was in sight, as the government was willing to make amendments to the law. However, he said he would make no further comment on this matter as the proposed changes had not been presented to the Ombudsman’s Office.
Dr Said Pullicino was replying to Opposition MP Ryan Callus, who asked for the latest developments on the army complaints dispute, which has been dragging on since May.
The ministry has been refusing to cooperate with the Ombudsman and hand over the requested documentation, arguing that by law the Ombudsman’s Office cannot investigate such cases. Instead, aggrieved army members can seek redress by going to their commander who can then refer the case to the President, the ministry maintains. Dr Said Pullicino disagrees with this legal interpretation while making the argument that a General Order agreed upon in 2011 by the government, the AFM and the President gave army members the Ombudsman option.
Meanwhile, Equal Opportunities Minister Helena Dalli called for his office to be more visible, possibly through a strong presence in the media.
She also mentioned the length of time it takes for it to make a decision and called for more citizen-friendly terminology in its judgments.
Dr Said Pullicino pointed out that in some cases the delay was due to the fact that public officials were not always forthcoming to his office’s requests. On the other hand he said that next year the Office would intensify its media campaign, especially among sectors of society who were not internet literate.
At the start of the meeting Speaker Anġlu Farrugia announced that members of Parliament would have to seek his consent prior to organising a news conference at the Parliament building.
The Speaker was replying to a point raised by Opposition Whip David Agius who questioned the decision taken last week by Finance Minister Edward Scicluna to hold a news conference in one of the committee rooms.
During yesterday’s meeting the committee agreed that Parliament would rise for the Christmas recess on December 17.