Not all judges and magistrates dedicate valuable years to Maltese justice. Not all judges and magistrates show utmost selfless dedication and respect towards Malta’s constitution. Some have been shadowed by allegations of grave corruption and being involved in shady deals.
Setting aside former magistrate and Freemason Carol Peralta, who is a subject on its own and who I have tackled in other pieces, in this piece we will have a short look at past cases of local judges and magistrates who abused their position as a magistrate or a judge.
We find Judge Patrick Vella, who was imprisoned for taking bribes from a drug-trafficker; Judge Ray Pace who hanged himself when he was confronted with recorded evidence that he had taken payments from criminals; Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco “who in 2014 escaped impeachment due to his retirement from the Bench,” or we can say that Prime Minister Joseph Muscat used delaying tactics in parliament until the judge reached official retirement age and who chaired the new Lands Authority in 2017.
Magistrate Consuelo Herrera, who was found by the Commission for the Administration of Justice “to have breached the judiciary’s code of ethics by compromising her integrity and personal dignity, by attending parties and seeking public exposure, and even entertaining the amorous advances of a police inspector.” Ironically, in 2018, the magistrates in Malta’s courts of law elected Scerri Herrera “as a representative on the judiciary’s watchdog, after she was herself rebuked by the same commission.”
Magistrate Miriam Hayman who was embroiled in the scandal which led to the resignation of the Police Commissioner George Grech.
On 23rd July 2021, we had Magistrate Monica Vella, the same magistrate who, for some mysterious reason, is taking ages to publish the Lands inquiry in which Jason Azzopardi is involved, who “was arraigned in court on VAT-related charges” “based on discrepancies in her stated income from work, ” which she “conducted outside her duties as a member of the judiciary.” A month later, charges were withdrawn after she settled these pending tax discrepancies.
Our court should be counter-acting corruption, instead of being part of it. These magistrates and judges in highest offices should be an example of transparency and justice. The court itself should be an example of transparency and justice.
But from what one can observe from the tainted and corrupt trial of Yorgen Fenech, it is clear that “political corruption works by having an equally corrupt legal system to protect it” (Steven Magee). Corruption is being legalized and this is a serious infliction and oppression on honest citizens.
Malta appears to be sinking deeper and deeper in corruption.