Months after overseeing the setting up of the Lands Authority, Deborah Schembri has been engaged there as a lawyer, fuelling accusations of a blatant conflict of interest.

The alarm bells were sounded a few days ago when Dr Schembri, who failed to be re-elected in the June 3 general election, turned up for a Land Arbitration Board sitting on the authority’s behalf.

In a Facebook post, PN MP Jason Azzopardi lashed out at the government, describing the appointment as a shameful conflict of interest.

“The Lands Authority lawyer is the former minister who had appointed its CEO [Carlo Cini], who has now appointed her as legal counsel to the entity,” he remarked.

Contacted by The Sunday Times of Malta, the former junior minister said her endorsement of Mr Cini’s appointment was on the strength of the recommendations of a selection board, following an open call.

“I refute claims that my new role was a way through which Mr Cini returned the favour for having appointed him CEO,” she insisted.

Dr Schembri pointed out that following the departure of all of the authority’s lawyers during the summer, it had to act quickly to find a replacement as otherwise it could have jeopardised its position on several pending arbitration cases. “Failure to act quickly within a certain deadline would have meant that the authority losing its right to make its submissions and present evidence in court. This would have been a disaster,” she said.

She added that having piloted the Lands Authority law she had all the necessary credentials to defend its best interests.

“Furthermore, the limited pool of specialised lawyers in this field are practically all engaged in pending cases against the authority, meaning they were precluded from the post I have taken up, as this would pose a conflict of interest,” she said. On his part, the CEO confirmed Dr Schembri’s appointment was through a direct order, saying the tight deadline did not leave the option to issue a call.

“The authority is positive it made the best choice in the circumstances and finds any attacks against the said lawyers puerile attempts at obscuring their good work and dedication,” he said.

The PN’s planning spokesman Ryan Callus said: “The government is to blame for the shortage of lawyers for the simple reason that all those who were on the authority’s payroll left a few months ago in protest at the unfair promotions handed out.”

This claim, however, has been disputed by the authority, saying that there was nothing irregular about the promotions and that the departures from its legal office were unrelated.

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