Konrad Mizzi’s legal team is not ruling out appealing a decision to include the Tourism Minister in an inquiry into secret company 17 Black, a court heard on Monday.
Lawyer Aaron Mifsud Bonnici told the Constitutional Court that the time window for an appeal was still open as his client had only recently been officially notified about the decree handed down by Magistrate Doreen Clarke last week.
Prior to the inquiry decree being handed down, Dr Mizzi filed a Constitutional application claiming his right to a fair hearing would be breached if a Panama Papers inquiry took place upon the request of former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil and NGO Repubblika.
In Monday's hearing about the human rights breach claim, Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon rejected a request by Dr Mizzi to be able to appeal a decision by the Constitutional Court allowing Repubblika to be a party to the proceedings.
Dr Mizzi was not present for the proceedings.
This is the second time the minister has taken to the courts claiming a Panama Papers probe would breach his rights.
He dropped the first claim after a request made in 2017 for an inquiry was successfully blocked by an appeal.
Dr Busuttil and Repubblika filed a fresh request for an inquiry in March, decrying the country’s institutions flagrant and consistent failure to take any action against Dr Mizzi and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff after they were found to have opened up secret offshore structures.
The former Opposition leader’s request was upheld in part, as the court ordered the evidence presented to form part of a 17 Black inquiry being led by magistrate Charmaine Galea.
For this purpose, the court ordered that the evidence presented to it form part of the inquiry being led by Dr Galea.
Dr Mizzi, Mr Schembri, Nexia BT’s Brian Tonna and Karl Cini as well as LNG tanker agent Mario Pullicino will now form part of this inquiry.
Electrogas power station director and businessman Yorgen Fenech had been named as the owner of the mystery Dubai company 17 Black.