Repubblika takes note of the judgment delivered by the Constitutional Court, which upheld the appeal filed by the government and the agencies it controls in the case brought by a group of electricity and water consumers, organised by Repubblika, concerning the consequences of corruption in the Electrogas agreement.
In that case, we sought to argue that electricity consumers suffered the consequences of corruption in the Electrogas affair and should therefore be compensated. Despite the case having been before the courts for five years, the courts never reached the stage of examining the merits of the allegations of corruption, and the proceedings focused exclusively on preliminary and procedural issues.
We are disappointed by today’s judgment.
However, we have always known that this was a difficult and innovative case. The question we sought to place before the courts was whether ordinary citizens who bear the financial burden of corruption should be recognised as its victims and have a right to a remedy.
The Constitutional Court decided that we did not have the legal interest necessary to pursue this action. It did not decide whether the Electrogas agreement was corrupt or otherwise, nor did it determine whether consumers suffered damage as a consequence of it. No one should therefore present this judgment as an exoneration of those involved in the corruption surrounding Electrogas. Anyone who does so would be distorting the facts.
This judgment highlights a problem that Repubblika has been pointing out for years. Grand corruption often causes widespread harm to thousands of people, yet our legal system struggles to recognise them as victims and to give them an effective voice in judicial proceedings. The result is that those who suffer the consequences of corruption frequently find themselves without a remedy, not because corruption did not occur, but because they are unable to overcome the procedural obstacles required for their case to be heard.
For this reason, Repubblika continues to insist that Malta needs legal reforms that enable victims of corruption to seek effective remedies and compensation. The law should better recognise the collective harm caused by corruption and allow civil society organisations to represent the interests of victims when those victims are dispersed across the wider population.
Corruption in the hospital privatisation, the sale of passports, the Electrogas agreement, and other major corruption scandals have had real consequences for citizens and for the common good.the Those consequences do not simply disappear because current law finds it difficult to recognise their victims.
Repubblika will continue to use every democratic, civic and legal means available to promote accountability, encourage the authorities to take effective action against corruption, and work to ensure that victims receive the protection and remedies they deserve.
Finally, Repubblika thanks lawyers Edward Debono and Jason Azzopardi for their work throughout these years of proceedings.