The findings of the Venice Commission on the rule of law in Malta were yet another condemnation of the Muscat government by an international institution, yet the government was again trying to spin this into a certificate of good practice, Opposition leader Adrian Delia has said.

The commission's findings and recommendations were issued in a full report on Monday after highlights were issued last week. The prime minister said the government agreed with most of the recommendations, and the report would be handed to the committee coordinating constitutional reform for eventual implementation.

Dr Delia said the Venice Commission was clear in its view that the government was usurping power from the institutions and abusing of their autonomy. It had therefore recommended better checks and balances.  

The commission's conclusions, Dr Delia said, were further confirmation of what the Nationalist Party had long been saying about the extensive powers of the prime minister over the institutions which were supposed to protect the people and also the fact that the Attorney General should not be both government counsel and prosecutor. 

If the prime minister truly believed in the rule of law and in upholding the country's reputation, the commission's recommendations should be brought into force immediately, Dr Delia said. 

In this way, the members of the judiciary should be appointed in a truly independent manner and not by the prime minister; the Office of the Attorney General should no longer have a double role,  and the role of MPs, particularly government MPs, to oversee the executive should be strengthened by ensuring they were not blinded by government appointments.

There also needed to be controls of appointments to positions of trust.

Dr Delia said former Nationalist governments had set up the institutions to safeguard the people's rights and the government should let them function efficiently and transparently, free of abusive appointments and corruption.