Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee yesterday refrained from hearing former Enemalta consultant Frank Sammut, who has been charged with oil procurement corruption, after he filed a constitutional application contesting the decision to havehim testify.
He claims a breach of his fundamental right to remain silent and challenges a ruling by the Speaker that he should appear before the committee but choose not to answer questions that may incriminate him.
Mr Sammut is facing criminal charges in relation to alleged corruption in Enemalta oil purchases just over a decade ago.
After hearing submissions by Joe Giglio, Mr Sammut’s lawyer, committee chairman Jason Azzopardi postponed Mr Sammut’s testimony, with a decision on how to proceed due to be taken at the committee’s next meeting. A date has not yet been set.
Last month, Speaker Anġlu Farrugia ruled both Mr Sammut and ex-Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone, who is also facing criminal proceedings, should appear before the committee but may opt not to reply to questions which incriminated them.
In these cases, the Speaker said, the questions should be referred to him for a decision on whether they were considered to be incriminating.
The court application was filed yesterday morning against Dr Farrugia and committee chairman Jason Azzopardi.
Mr Sammut argued the right to remain silent was linked to a fair trial and the Speaker had no right to decide what questions a witness should reply to
Mr Sammut argued that the right to remain silent was linked to the requirements of a fair trial as laid down in the Constitution and that the Speaker had no right to decide what questions a witness should reply to.
In the committee’s short session in the afternoon, Dr Giglio argued that since Mr Sammut was contesting whether he should be testifying in front of the committee, it was only prudent for the committee to await the direction of the Constitutional Court.
Dr Azzopardi said the committee would deliberate on this point and come to a decision during the next meeting.