The Rule of Law Report 2021 published today, the 20th of July 2021, by the European Commission welcomes the reforms implemented to strengthen the independence of the justice system, particularly the reform of the system of judicial appointments and that of judicial discipline.
According to the report, the perception of judicial independence has “notably improved”.
The report goes on to show that the level of perceived judicial independence is now “high” with the reform of the procedure for dismissal of magistrates and judges also a key contributing factor.
The report outlines how action has been taken to depoliticise the appointment of the Chief Justice, and noted the progress on the transfer of prosecutions from the police to the Attorney General. This new system of judicial appointments was also positively welcomed by the Venice Commission.
In its report, the European Commission refers to the opinion of the Venice Commission to amend the constitution in order to empower administrative authorities to impose sanctions for violations currently decided by courts. Although last week the Opposition regrettably voted against this amendment in parliament, the government remains committed to strengthening the internal process and delivery of the authorities in order to ensure a just process.
The reforms concerning the appointment of the Police Commissioner and of the Commissioners of the Permanent Commission against Corruption, as well as the reorganised cooperation between the Executive Police and the Attorney General in his capacity as public prosecutor, are recent reforms which already started yielding positive results.
Measures were introduced to improve integrity in the Executive Policeand, in September 2020, a Transformation Strategy for the years 2020-2025 was launched with the aim of strengthening anti-corruption measures. The Executive Police also implemented a policy regulating Business Interests and Additional Occupations, and the Police Act was amended in order to allow Police Officers to make anonymous reports on breach of integrity within the Executive Police.
Reforms proposed in 2020 regarding the appointment of persons exercising top executive functions in the public administration were also adopted.
The European Commission report also refers to the fact that the Ombudsperson responsible for integrity of civil servants has expired, and the government remains committed to agreeing on a suitable replacement for this important role despite the Opposition being content with the status quo.
Furthermore, the report highlights how investigative and prosecution bodies have improved their capacity to deal with cases related to corruption and that even further reforms have been carried out to enhance checks and balances, thus widening the judicial review on decisions that need to be taken, including those by the Attorney General.
These reforms were implemented after taking into account recommendations put forward by the Council of Europe. Since January 2020, the Maltese government implemented substantial changes to further strengthen the rule of law in Malta, and carried out significant reforms to strengthen democracy and the institutions that deliver it. The digitalisation of the justice system is already underway as part of the €10m allocated through the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Fund (RRF) to strengthen Malta’s institutional framework. A number of initiatives have already been taken and the government presented a solid plan to the RRF. As a result of this investment, the efficiency of the justice system will be increased, and the waiting time will be decreased.
Following the publication of the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report 2021, Prime Minister Robert Abela reiterated his assertion that the Maltese government remains committed to contributing to the strengthening of rule of law within the EU, and will continue engaging in ongoing cooperation to achieve this goal.
In March 2021, the Council of Europe’s Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) had also welcomed and acknowledged Malta’s progress in corruption prevention in respect of members of parliament, judges and prosecutors, as adopted at its 87th Plenary Meeting held in Strasbourg.
The aim of the European Commission’s Rule of Law Report 2021 is to monitor the developments relating to Rule of Law in all EU member states.
