The civic growth of this community depends on how it deals with its own history. The anti-mafia effort in places like Italy relies on the collective memory of its victims. This is not a process of beatification or lionization as opponents to the cause of justice for Daphne Caruana Galizia falsely suggest. This is a … Continued
Even as we demand that justice in Daphne Caruana Galizia’s case is served without any further delay, our concerns today are more profound than they were in our shock and anger on the afternoon of 16 October 2017. We find that the political leadership of the government and the party in government has not repudiated … Continued
The Inquiry is asked to determine whether the State has fulfilled and is fulfilling its positive obligation to take preventive operational measures to protect individuals whose lives are at risk from criminal acts, in particular in the case of journalists. We have argued above why we believe this has not been the case. We would … Continued
Although it is no doubt stressful for governments to sit through inquiries into their conducts, examining administrative decisions and failings and seeking to learn from them for the benefit of future occurrences should be a key consequence of the separation of powers and the growth of the national experience. It should be within the discretion … Continued
The interest of international agencies was crucial in forcing the government to launch the Inquiry. In this case, the direct intervention of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe combined with significant public protest that forced Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to resort to any means of political survival he felt was available to him, … Continued
We would, by way of substantiating our argument in this respect, refer to this Inquiry itself. The setting up of this Inquiry happened in spite of the government, rather than because of it. Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family, with the support of civil society and the independent media, campaigned for two years for the Inquiry’s setting … Continued
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said soon after the killing of Daphne Caruana Galizia that “the country deserves justice”.29 The comment was in the same vein of remarks he made elsewhere that this had been an outrage to Maltese democracy and free expression. These words framed the importance of this crime in the correct context. No … Continued
The inadequacy of our legislative framework is then exacerbated by the weakness of the Maltese State to enforce even the laws that we do have, for a crime of this scale and significance. The Inquiry has heard evidence of collusion, or at least unacceptable and compromising proximity, between the leadership of the police investigation into … Continued
The government shows a remarkable lack of enthusiasm for reforms to fight corruption within its ranks. We refer the Board to findings by the Council of Europe’s Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) that has made recommendations28 that in great part remain ignored. They should be restated as their adoption could help reduce the toxicity … Continued
In the context of inherent secrecy for reasons of fair competition, particularly in public procurement, credible evidence of wrongdoing can only be secured with the voluntary cooperation of people breaching confidentiality to provide the press, the public, and eventually the authorities, with evidence only they are privy to. Whistleblowers are by definition vulnerable. They are … Continued
