Lawyers are bound to keep in mind their “duties and responsibilities” when expressing themselves on cases still under judgment, according to the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

The statement was made in the wake of a case where a father, who had been serving a two-year prison term for allegedly sexually abusing his daughter, was provisionally released from prison on orders of the Constitutional Court.

The case hit the headlines after it transpired that the daughter had lied under oath, triggering calls for the man’s release after serving almost 400 days behind bars. His estranged wife has been accused of perjury and the daughter is expected to be arraigned too.

The man’s lawyer, Tonio Azzopardi, made a number of declarations in the media on the case.

The commission made no direct reference to Dr Azzopardi but noted that lawyers were expressing opinions and making arguments and even personal conjectures about cases that were still before the courts.

It warned that lawyers were bound to abide by the code of ethics while urging the media to respect the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the right to a fair hearing and the integrity of the judicial process.

The Broadcasting Authority yesterday referred directly to Dr Azzopardi, saying it had received a copy of a letter which the commission sent him on this case.

In the letter, the commission reminded Dr Azzopardi about his ethical obligations when making certain statements on the media.

The broadcasting watchdog said it took note of the points raised by the commission and urged TV and radio stations to abide by its obligations. It added that it would be monitoring the coverage of this case and would take the necessary action in case any stations would not respect the law.