Former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi stands by his 1996 memorandum. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A 1996 Parliament memo by then Speaker Lawrence Gonzi had established that impeachment motions to remove a judge from the bench remained valid even if Parliament was dissolved.

The memo was endorsed by then Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet – now a judge at the European Court Justice – who had emphasised that impeachment motions could be carried from one legislature to the other.

The memo, based on a study of parliamentary procedures in Commonwealth countries, was drawn up to establish procedural guidelines for then pending impeachment motion against Mr Justice Anton Depasquale in 1996.

In that case, the motion had been eventually carried from one legislature to the other even though Parliament was dissolved.

In his memo, Mr Speaker had specifically addressed the issue of the validity of an impeachment motion and concluded this would stand until a decision was taken.

Citing procedure adopted in the House of Commons, which considers impeachment motions as ‘exceptions’ that can be carried from one legislature to the other, the memo also quotes the House of Commons’ Erskine May, considered to be the bible of Parliament.

It says: “The effect of a prorogation is at once to terminate all the current business of Parliament. Not only are the sittings of Parliament at an end but all proceedings pending at the time are quashed, except impeachments by the Commons, and appeals before the House of Lords.”

As an example, Erskine May mentions an impeachment case against a certain Judge Fox in the UK, which was continued despite the dissolution of Parliament.

In the impeachment motion against Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia said that, according to advice he had been given, the MP who filed the motion, in this case former prime minister Lawrence Gonzi, had to be present for the debate or at least delegate another member in his absence. However, in this case, Dr Gonzi was no longer part of the House, making the impeachment motion “dead”.

In the 1996 memo, Dr Gonzi had quoted the Constitution saying that, once a report by the Commission for the Administration of Justice found prima facie evidence of misbehaviour, the impeachment motion, together with the report, had to be considered by the House of Representatives.

The memo adds that this means that once the Commission finds evidence of misbehaviour, the House is obliged to decide on an impeachment motion.

Contacted by Times of Malta yesterday, Dr Gonzi did not wish to comment but said he stuck to the 1996 memorandum.