Any changes to the Constitution should be made after a referendum rather than just a debate in Parliament, Democratic Party leader Godfrey Farrugia said on Wednesday.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Dr Farrugia said a referendum would add legitimacy to the debate since everyone would be participating in constitutional reform.

Rule of law reforms, he insisted, should not be made “in secret” steering committee meetings made up of political representatives with no clear terms of reference.

In a report issued on Monday, constitutional law experts from the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission highlighted shortcomings in Malta’s governance structures.

A referendum would add legitimacy to the debate since everyone would be participating

The government said it agreed with many of the recommendations made and pointed out that a steering committee for constitutional reform, led by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, would be tasked with proposing reforms in line with what was proposed.

However, the PD, which has two MPs sitting on the Opposition side, argued the concerns raised were too important to be discussed in “secret meetings”. The committee was not bound by timelines, meaning the proposals might never see the light of day, it noted.

The Constitution belonged to the people and the proposed steering committee should draw up a frame of reference on what should be changed, Dr Farrugia said.

The Constitution was already very weak, having certain gaps that did not qualify separation of powers, he said, arguing that about a third of it was missing when compared to other countries, he added.

The Labour and Nationalist parties could not be trusted with constitutional amendments, Dr Farrugia warned, saying they both had repeatedly delayed reforms.