Opposition MP Simon Busuttil vowed to take the government before the European Court of Justice should his efforts before Maltese courts fail to kick off investigations into Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and OPM chief-of-staff Keith Schembri.

For the second time in just a few weeks, the courts last week turned down a request for a magisterial investigation into the Tourism Minister and the Prime Minister’s top aide in the wake of the Panama Papers revelations.

The latest ruling against him only served to certify the dismal state of the Maltese judiciary and of Maltese democracy more generally, he said in Parliament on Monday, as he quoted extensively from the Venice Commission report into the rule of law in Malta.

Among its findings, the Venice Commission concluded that the Maltese justice system fell short of ensuring the independent functioning of the judiciary. Furthermore, Dr Busuttil added, it had argued for the separation of the roles of attorney general and chief public prosecutor, due to the conflicts of interest which could arise when members of the government merited prosecution by the government’s attorney.

The report also stated that the Prime Minister had too much power, and called for additional powers to be given to the President and for the role of President to be filled with the approval of an absolute majority of MPs. It also cautioned that Parliament was too weak to serve as a sufficient check on the executive, calling for the empowerment of the country’s highest democratic institution and for an end to the practice of appointing backbenchers to Government boards.

Dr Busuttil took Maltese institutions to task for failing to move against Dr Mizzi or Mr Schembri. In doing so, they were failing to uphold legal obligations which emanated from various EU directives concerning the prevention of money laundering, he said.