‘This Will Only Serve Those Who Do Wrong’: Civil Society Blasts Magisterial Reform, Pointing Out Undemocratic Pattern
Prime Minister Robert Abela has been at the receiving end of damning criticism for for a proposing magisterial inquiry reform which NGO Moviment Graffitti described as “another nail in democracy’s coffin”.
Last week, Abela officially proposed the reform that he has fast-tracked the last few months in response to an influx of inquiry requests.
Critics’ main concern is that Malta’s Prime Minister is intentionally breaking down democratic checks and balances to hide widespread corruption within the government.
Moviment Graffitti is one of the many NGOs to have reiterated the seriousness of Abela’s decision in a bid to get the public to understand that this reform is “dangerous”.
“We must defeat the Prime Minister’s feverish efforts to pass a bill severely limiting citizens’ ability to hold the powerful to account. The proposed bill will reduce the power of the courts while placing citizens at the mercy of the police,” the organisation wrote on social media.
“The courts are one of the last independent institutions left. By making access to the courts dependent on the police, the bill is a threat to liberty and accountability.”
Moviment Graffitti said that this reform will only serve “those who do wrong”, pointing out – like many already have – that magistrates have the power to refuse requests and that the weaponisation of magisterial inquiries by citizens is a crime in Malta.
Therefore, safeguards against the weaponisation of these inquiries that Abela has used to justify this reform are already in place.
The proposed law will require citizens to submit the type of evidence used in court – “a very high bar that is almost impossible to pass for regular people, effectively hindering the public’s ability to request inquiries.
Six months will then need pass before action is taken, the NGO continued.
“This is effectively a death sentence for justice. This is a police force that, when it comes to crime at the very highest levels, is best characterised by inaction and outright collusion.”
The reform will also throw out all inquiry requests submitted before the start of the year, putting five of Jason Azzopardi’s requests at risk.
Former journalist and Lovin Malta founder Christian Peregin shared a similar statement, warning of a dangerous pattern within the government that signals a very dark and troubling future for democracy and transparency in Malta.
He did this by listing a series of questionable decisions that Abela’s cabinet made at the start of the year:
“They refused to file their declarations of assets in Parliament, arguing – for the first time ever – that there is no law requiring them to do so.
– They removed police protection for Jason Azzopardi, a lawyer who has dedicated himself to fighting corruption and has been at the forefront of exposing wrongdoing.
– They rushed through legal changes that weaken magisterial inquiries, making it significantly harder for private citizens to request investigations into corruption without first going through the police – an institution repeatedly criticised for inaction on major cases.
– In a press conference they doubled down on Jason Azzopardi as the person to blame for this law, claiming he had filed abusive inquiry requests (without specifying which ones), and saying people like him could now be fined millions of euros for seeking judicial investigations without enough evidence.”
Peregin continued to argue that if Azzopardi were to be harmed, there would be a strong argument that the government created the conditions for such an outcome, “just as the public inquiry into Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination concluded the government bore responsibility for fostering a culture of impunity.”
However, he explained, the most disturbing part is that the government is “tinkering with electoral laws, which raises serious questions about whether it is preparing to entrench itself in power even when the majority of the population turns against it”.
Here, Peregin was referring to leaked proposals to redraw voting district lines in a way that would dilute PN-dominated districts.
“These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a broader pattern: the slow dismantling of democratic checks and balances by a government that has too much to hide. The question now is, how far are they willing to go? And what are we going to do about it?” he concluded.
New third-party Momentum has also been a staunch opponent of this reform, having launched a parliamentary petition calling for there not to be any amendment to the law on magisterial inquiries.
To sign it, click here.
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