Updated on Tuesday with PL reaction.
Opposition MP Simon Busuttil accused the government of “buying” private media with advertising, and of being quick to withdraw such advertising if newspapers did not toe the line.
This amounted to the government’s “total domination” of media on the islands, he said in Parliament during the second reading of the Media and Defamation Bill.
However, when asked by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici to identify to which media houses he was referring, Dr Busuttil did not comment.
Dr Bonnici identified 18 major changes that would be implemented by the second draft of the Media and Defamation Bill, following the publication earlier this year of what Opposition MPs referred to as a “disastrous” first draft.
This would include the abolition of criminal libel, and - on the advice of Dean of Laws Kevin Aquilina - cases currently being heard would be dismissed immediately upon the coming into effect of the law.
The Act would also re-define libel, requiring an act to conceivably have caused “serious reputational damage”. The maximum damages awardable in libel cases would be slightly rounded down to €11,640, instead of increased as had originally been intended.
The Act would also re-define libel, requiring an act to conceivably have caused “serious reputational damage”.
Furthermore, defences against libel charges were being extended and broadened, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. These additional defences would make it harder for politicians and politically exposed persons to win libel cases against journalists. The current list of “public interest publications” would be expanded, and the media organisations on this list would be granted extra rights over and above those afforded to everyday media.
Dr Bonnici said that, upon the advice of the Front Against Censorship, the government wished to bring about a culture change where knee-jerk reactions to injurious actions were concerned.
The Bill would introduce, for the first time, the separate offence of slander for verbal injury to one’s reputation, with a damages of up to €5,000.
In cases where damages were awarded, the courts would be obliged to take into account the ultimate effect on journalists or media organisations found guilty of criminal libel, as well as to consider the cumulative effect of multiple libels filed for closely related reasons. Precautionary orders of all types would be abolished in libel cases.
Having taken on board the Institute of Maltese Journalists’ recommendation to introduce preliminary hearings when cases could possibly be resolved through an apology, the Bill would also extend the role of the Institute in the self-regulation of the journalistic profession.
Dr Bonnici invited the Institute to take on the newly established role of media registrar, powers which formerly fell under the Office of the Prime Minister, and to keep a voluntary register of editors and publishers in the Maltese Islands. The government was ready to consider the allocation of any resources necessary for this purpose, he said.
Dr Bonnici tabled an OSCE report which he had requested following the completion of the Bill. The report’s Executive Summary, which he quoted, praised the complete abolition of any criminal penalties for injurious actions relating to the freedom of expression, and concluded with a “very positive assessment” of the provisions set forth in the law.
Criticism from the Opposition centred around the fact that, although it agreed with, and would be voting in favour of, the law, there was a noticeable difference between the reality inside the House and that outside of it.
Opposition MPs Karl Gouder and Dr Busuttil pointed out that, just recently, Daphne Caruana Galizia had been killed for exercising her freedom of expression. Quoting the Times of London, Dr Busuttil also said that Pilatus Bank whistleblower Maria Efimova was worried that “If I go back, I will be dead” [sic].
The government should protect all those in possession of potentially incendiary information, such as Efimova and former FIAU official Jonathan Ferris, he said, questioning how safe those who wished to speak out felt in the current “climate of murder.”
Dr Busuttil also called upon the government to release an FIAU report, known to the Opposition, concerning the payment of kickbacks to former Energy Minister Konrad Mizzi, and to the Prime Minister’s chief-of-staff Keith Schembri, related to the LNG tanker currently berthed in Marsaxlokk Harbour. The money had allegedly been laundered through Dubai company 17 Black and through the involved persons’ Panama companies.
Labour Party calls Busuttil's claim "shameful"
The Labour Party called MP Simon Busuttil allegations about the independent media “shameful and unacceptable”, noting that he did not identify any media houses when challenged to do so.
The party said it had respect for the independent media, even when it disagreed with it, and it was in this spirit that the Bill had been put forward.
While Dr Busuttil's "bitterness" wasn't new, it would be good to know if his successor was in agreement with him, the PL said.