The honouring of membership obligations to the Council of Europe by Malta

Doc. 15546: compendium of written amendments | Doc. 15546 | 22/06/2022 | Final version

Compendium index

Amendment 1 Amendment 2 Amendment 3 Amendment 4 Amendment 5 Amendment 6 Amendment 7 Amendment 8 Amendment 9 Amendment 10

Caption: AdoptedRejectedWithdrawnNo electronic votes

ADraft Resolution

1Malta became the 18th member State of the Council of Europe in 1965. Recently it has been in the focus of attention of the international community, including the Parliamentary Assembly as a result of the assassination of anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, and the authority’s response to it. The Assembly reiterates its position taken in Resolution 2293 (2019) “Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination and the rule of law in Malta and beyond: ensuring that the whole truth emerges”. It welcomes the establishment, on its recommendation, of an independent public inquiry commission. It notes with concern the findings by this commission of malfunctioning democratic institutions in the country, and in particular its conclusion that there is a culture of impunity and institutional omerta in Malta. The Assembly calls upon the Maltese authorities to fully address the concerns and recommendations expressed in the report by the independent public inquiry commission.

• Amendment 1
• Amendment 2

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Romilda ZARB, Ms Cressida GALEA

In the draft resolution, paragraph 1, fifth sentence, replace the words "there is a culture of impunity", with the following words:

"there existed a culture of impunity"

Explanatory note

The public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia published its report on 29 July 2021.The Board of the Public Inquiry made several recommendations, some of which will require time to be fully assessed and implemented. However work to implement these recommendations has already begun, alongside other reforms.

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Romilda ZARB, Ms Cressida GALEA

In the draft resolution, paragraph 1, last sentence, after the words "Maltese authorities", insert the following words:

"to continue their work and efforts"

Explanatory note

The public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia published its report on 29 July 2021.The Board of the Public Inquiry made several recommendations, some of which will require time to be fully assessed and implemented. However work to implement these recommendations has already begun, alongside other reforms.

2The Assembly’s report on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s assassination, as well as the opinion of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) on the constitutional arrangements for the separation of powers and independence of the judiciary, laid bare a systemic malfunctioning of democratic and rule of law institutions, and were a watershed moment for the country. The Assembly therefore very much welcomes the reforms initiated by the authorities to address the shortcomings and recommendations made in these texts, especially with regard to the independence of the judiciary and appointment procedures for official positions. While these reforms constitute marked progress, they only partially address the concerns and shortcomings that were noted. In the view of the Assembly, a comprehensive and holistic reform of Malta’s democratic institutions and system of checks and balances is still urgently needed. This all the more important in the context of the deeply rooted political and social polarisation in Malta, which permeates nearly all aspects of the Maltese society and endangers the functioning of its democratic institutions.

• Amendment 3

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Romilda ZARB, Ms Cressida GALEA

In the draft resolution, paragraph 2, fourth sentence, replace the words "a comprehensive and holistic reform of Malta’s democratic institutions and system of checks and balances is still urgently needed", with the following words:

"the comprehensive and holistic reform of Malta's democratic institutions and system of checks and balances is to remain a priority"

Explanatory note

Government has already begun to implement a number of wide-reaching and unprecedented reforms with the aim of strengthening Malta's democratic institutions and good governance, as recently confirmed by the Financial Action Task Force, and this commitment should be reflected in the text of the resolution.

3The Assembly therefore welcomes the establishment, by the President of Malta, of a Constitutional Convention to formulate a reform of Malta’s constitutional framework, which will help assure that these reforms have wide support and acceptance in the Maltese society. The Assembly encourages the authorities to ensure a broad and comprehensive consultation process, and to provide the Constitutional Convention with a clear mandate and strict timeframe to complete its work.

4Malta’s Parliament consists of part-time members of parliament. This undermines its capacity for legislative initiative as well as its capacity to provide proper parliamentary oversight over the executive. In addition, the need for members of parliament to have secondary employment increases the vulnerability of the parliament to corruption and conflicts of interest. The Assembly therefore recommends a far-reaching reform of the Maltese Parliament with the aim of establishing a full-time parliament that can provide proper parliamentary oversight and regain legislative initiative. In addition, the Assembly calls upon the Maltese Parliament to:

• Amendment 4

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Ms Romilda ZARB, Ms Cressida GALEA

In the draft resolution, paragraph 4, last sentence, replace the words "calls upon" with the following word:

"encourages"

4.1considerably limit and circumscribe the possibility for, and types of, secondary employment by members of parliament;

4.2define and delimit by law the list of allowed secondary functions, including in Officially Appointed Bodies, for members of parliament;

4.3abolish the constitutional requirement that stipulates that ministers must be members of parliament;

4.4introduce public financing for political parties with a view to reduce their dependency on private donations which have an inherent risk for conflicts of interest and corruption.

5The Assembly welcomes the reforms that have been implemented with regard to the appointment process of judges and magistrates. These reforms have strengthened the system of checks and balances over this appointment process and reduced its vulnerability to politicisation. This is a step forward with regard to strengthening the judiciary. In this respect it particularly welcomes the strengthening of the role of the President in the appointment process while reducing the extensive and discretionary powers of the Prime Minister. Given the increased powers of the President, his or her direct election by the Maltese citizens should be explored.

6The reform of the judicial appointment process, and the reform of the prosecution service, separating the function of State advocate from that of the Attorney General and removing the Attorney General from the Commission for the Administration of Justice are important steps to strengthen the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. Another welcome development in that respect has been moving the responsibility for prosecuting most crimes from the police to the Attorney General. At the same time, the Assembly encourages the authorities to implement further reforms as recommended by the Venice Commission and the Independent Public Inquiry Commission. It reiterates that strengthening parliamentary oversight over the executive is essential in this respect. In addition, the Assembly recommends that the parliament adopts the required legislation that ensures that acts that have been declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court immediately lose their legal force.

7Despite welcome reforms, the Prime Minister maintains considerable control over the civil service, which undermines the latter’s independence from political forces. A key concern in this respect is the excessively high number of political appointees, also known as persons of trust, in Malta’s civil service, which are appointed bypassing the legal civil service appointments procedures. The high number of political appointees, and lack of legal regulations governing these positions, increases the vulnerability of Malta’s civil service to conflicts of interest and cronyism. Recent reforms have not sufficiently addressed this issue and the Assembly therefore urges the authorities to implement additional reforms with a view to legally limiting the appointment of persons of trust to a small number of clearly defined and regulated positions.

• Amendment 5

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Romilda ZARB, Ms Cressida GALEA

In the draft resolution, paragraph 7, first sentence, replace the word "undermines" with the following words:

"may undermine"

8The Assembly welcomes the recent reforms that have strengthened the position and independence of the Ombudsperson, who performs an important institutional oversight function over the authorities. However, it regrets the lack of enforcement of the right of information of the Ombudsperson, and the limited follow up given by the parliament and executive to its reports, which weaken the efficient functioning of this important institution.

9A key concern for the Assembly is the continuing vulnerability of Malta’s public sector to corruption. Despite the high perception of corruption there has been little visible response and a coherent overall strategy to prevent corruption in public institutions is lacking. This has created a culture of impunity. Overcoming this culture of impunity and institutional omerta is one of the key challenges facing the Maltese society and its democratic institutions and should be addressed as a matter of utmost priority. In this respect, the Assembly:

• Amendment 6
• Amendment 7

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Ms Cressida GALEA, Ms Romilda ZARB

In the draft resolution, paragraph 9, first sentence, replace the words "continuing vulnerability" with the following words:

"continuing perceived vulnerability"

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Kimmo KILJUNEN, Ms Cressida GALEA, Ms Romilda ZARB

In the draft resolution, paragraph 9, replace the third and fourth sentences with the following sentence:

"This is one of the key challenges facing the Maltese society and its democratic institutions and should be addressed as a matter of utmost priority."

9.1regrets the structural weaknesses that have limited the results and effectiveness of the Permanent Commission Against Corruption;

9.2welcomes the establishment of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and the effective functioning of his Office. The Assembly recommends the authorities to strengthen the powers and the resources given to the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and to consider the further streamlining of anti-corruption institutions to avoid overlap and interference between them;

9.3recommends that the authorities further strengthen the Whistle-blowers Act to ensure that whistle-blowers that divulge their knowledge to the media are sufficiently protected, and to change the requirement that external whistle-blowers have to report to the Cabinet of Ministers Office to be granted immunity from prosecution, which can act as a barrier for civil servants to come forward and report fraud and corruption;

9.4deplores the structural lack of implementation and enforcement of the Freedom of Information Act that renders this law ineffective. This needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. In this respect, it is important to underscore that a culture of transparency and openness cannot be achieved by legislation alone but also needs commensurate change of behaviour and attitude;

9.5is concerned about the vulnerability to corruption and money laundering of Malta’s “citizenship by investment programme” and calls on Malta to abolish this programme.

• Amendment 8
• Amendment 9

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Cressida GALEA, Ms Romilda ZARB

In the draft resolution, paragraph 9.5, replace the word "vulnerability" with the following words:

"perceived vulnerability".

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Cressida GALEA, Ms Romilda ZARB

In the draft resolution, paragraph 9.5, replace the words "abolish this programme" with the following words:

"continue taking all necessary steps to tackle any risk brought about by this programme"

10The Assembly is deeply concerned about the polarised media environment and the challenges faced by the media, including direct threats to journalists, that negatively affect press freedom in Malta. It therefore welcomes the recent establishment of a Committee of Experts on Media with a view to strengthening media freedom in Malta. The abuse of anti-defamation legislation and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) to silence journalists, is an issue of increasing concern that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

11The Assembly is concerned that, despite considerable progress, gender inequality and stereotypes remain deeply rooted in the Maltese society. Despite improvements in the legislation, representation of women in politics and government is still low. The Assembly therefore welcomes the new Equality Law that is before the parliament and encourages the parliament to adopt it without delay. The Assembly notes that Malta is one of the very few Council of Europe member States to prohibit abortion entirely, including in cases of rape or danger to the life of the mother. Reproductive rights and health are a key aspect of women rights that need to be improved in Malta as a matter of priority.

• Amendment 10

22 June 2022

Tabled by Ms Naomi CACHIA, Mr Domagoj HAJDUKOVIĆ, Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, Mr Chris BONETT, Lord George FOULKES, Lord Leslie GRIFFITHS, Mr Didier MARIE, Ms Cressida GALEA, Ms Romilda ZARB

Votes: 80 in favor 0 against 1 abstention

In the draft resolution, paragraph 11, after the second sentence, insert the following sentence:

"The Assembly, however, welcomes the amendments to the Constitution to put in place a gender-corrective mechanism, and its application following the general elections in March that has resulted in 12 additional seats for women, giving a total of 22 women MPs out of 79 members of Parliament."

12The Assembly recognises that Malta is a Mediterranean frontline State with regard to irregular migrants and asylum seekers, whose numbers are very high in comparison to Malta’s small population. The Assembly calls upon other European States to show commensurate solidarity with Malta in this respect. At the same time, it urges the Maltese authorities to ensure that its responsibilities and human rights obligations with regard to irregular migrants and asylum seekers are fully honoured, and to step up efforts in this regard.

13Malta faces important challenges to the functioning of its democratic and rule of law institutions, which, if left unaddressed, could affect the level of democratic consolidation in the country. The Assembly welcomes the efforts of the Maltese authorities in this respect, but further reforms, in particular with regard to its institutional checks and balances and the fight against corruption are still needed. It invites its Monitoring Committee to continue following the developments in the country and report back to the Assembly if the developments so warrant.