House may need to be recalled on judge case

The Commission for the Administration of Justice is unlikely to reach a decision on the impeachment of Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco before Parliament is dissolved on Monday, sources have told The Times. This means that unless the matter is pushed into the next legislature, Parliament could be convened to decide on the judge’s fate in the middle of the election campaign. The Commission has been holding hearings on the case since December 19 but is nowhere near a decision, sources told The Times. The proceedings were triggered by an impeachment motion filed by the Prime Minister in the wake of a report by the ethics board of the International Olympic Committee, which rapped Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco, as President of the Maltese Olympic Committee, over the sale of Olympics tickets. The IOC had launched a probe, which also involved the MOC’s general secretary Joe Cassar, following an investigation by reporters from The Sunday Times of London who posed as ticket agents. According to the law, the Commission should establish if there is a prima facie case. If it decides that there is no case, the impeachment motion will fall, but in the case of a positive decision it will be up to...