The Commission for the Administration of Justice has deplored the politicisation of an ensuing impasse over the refusal by two members of the judiciary to resign their posts of sporting officials – in a clear reference to a NET news bulletin which showed clips of Judge Carmelo Farrugia Sacco with Opposition leader Alfred Sant.
The news coverage had attracted criticism from Farrugia Sacco himself, labelling it ‘deplorable’ for its use of continuous footage of the judge alongside Labour leader Alfred Sant, in what appeared to be a deliberate political slant to the report by the Nationalist television station.
The Commission’s criticism is part of its latest statement issued last week as a chronology of events of its bid to get Farrugia Sacco and Magistrate Antonio Mizzi to resign their posts of presidents of the Malta Olympic Committee and the Malta Basketball Association respectively.
Forced on the defensive, after a damning indictment of its stand by former Sea Malta chairman Marlene Mizzi, the wife of Antonio Mizzi, the Commission is justifying its actions in a detailed public statement – a rare occasion for the judiciary’s watchdog which conducts its business away from the media glare.
The two members of the judiciary were “outed” by the Commission for the Administration of Justice for being in breach of their code of ethics after refusing to resign their posts as sporting officials.
The Commission has been seeking their resignation ever since a Code of Ethics barring judges and magistrates from taking up executive posts in associations was approved in 2004.
But in 2005, both members were involved in a public tiff with education minister Louis Galea, also responsible for sports, when the MOC criticised sporting legislation which they claimed threatened its autonomy and the allocation of funding to sporting associations.
Responding to the criticism, Galea had said he could “not fail to bring to attention the conflict for a Judge or Magistrate who, wearing the cap of MOC president or media director, takes a position against an act of parliament in public circumstances outside the judicial process” – referring to both Farrugia Sacco and Mizzi, the latter then an MOC director as well as MBA president.
Galea also added that the Chief Justice had already asked the two members to conform to the code of ethics, which he said prohibits the judiciary from “behaviour that endangers their impartiality or independence”.
“The government cannot ignore the Chief Justice’s admonishment,” Galea had warned.
According to the chronology presented by the Commission, Farrugia Sacco was informed straight after the publication of the code of the ethics, in a letter dated 14 December 2004, that his role as MOC president would be examined by the Commission to see whether this was in conformity with his role as judge.
In February 2006 the Commission informed him of his conflict with the code of ethics, and asked him to regularise his position. After a meeting held on 20 November, Farrugia Sacco informed the Commission of an amendment to the MOC statute to address its concerns – something the Commission felt did not change his conflicting position.
As for Antonio Mizzi, as early as 21 October, 2005, the Commission asked the magistrate to a meeting, held on the 1 December, over his role as MBA president. Over the course of 2006, following several exchanges of letters, the Commission and Mizzi met again on 15 January 2007. With the impasse unresolved, the Commission warmed Mizzi on 22 February that it would “proceed to other measures” if the magistrate doesn’t inform them of any measures taken to regularise himself.
Then on 1 April, Mizzi told the Commission of an amendment to the MBA statute to address the Commission’s preoccupation – a proposal which did not satisfy the Commission as to their concerns, that of the association’s “dependence on commercial sponsorships”. Later in August, it informed the magistrate that “his actions affect the trust he enjoys through his role and that he was neglecting to act in accordance with the code of ethics”, subsequently leading to their issuing of the public statement to the media.

mvella@mediatoday.com.mt