LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – The government’s contentious reforms to magisterial inquiries, which significantly limit individuals’ ability to request inquiries and impose a strict two-year time limit, have passed their final vote in Parliament, despite a protest taking place outside the building while the Opposition Leader Bernard Grech led his party out of Parliament in protest, calling the vote a “democratic disgrace” and refusing to participate in what he described as “a direct attack on citizens’ rights.”
The motion, approved by 37 votes to 30, paves the way for the bill to amend the Criminal Code and become law once it receives assent from the President.
The reforms were introduced shortly after a high-profile inquiry, initiated by private individuals, led to the arraignment of former prime minister Joseph Muscat on charges of corruption, money laundering, and criminal association. The changes come at a time when lawyer and former MP Jason Azzopardi was submitting multiple requests for inquiries into alleged corruption.
The Nationalist Opposition strongly opposed the bill, demanding a vote even on its first reading, a typically procedural step in Parliament. Following a lengthy and contentious debate, the bill was approved in its second reading last month.
On Tuesday, the Consideration of Bills Committee discussed the bill further, with the government introducing amendments to address one of its more controversial provisions. The revised bill no longer places magisterial inquiries under the supervision of the attorney general, a move that had been criticized for potentially undermining the independence of the judiciary. Under the new provisions, the appointment of experts will be managed by the inquiring magistrate and the chief justice.
Although the Nationalist Party welcomed this change, it still voted against the bill in committee, arguing that the revisions failed to address the most contentious elements of the legislation.
Outside Parliament, the civil society group ‘Repubblika’ staged a protest against the reforms. Robert Aquilina, honorary president of Repubblika and representative of the Fondazione Falcone in Malta, stated that history would ultimately condemn those responsible for making the bill law.
Prime Minister Robert Abela was met with jeers from the crowd as he arrived at Parliament for the vote. Aquilina accused him of being the “prime protector of the mafia” in Malta.
– photo Net News –
(ITALPRESS).
