European rights judges reject Maltese rulings

The European Court of Human Rights has disagreed with a decision made by five Maltese judges and a magistrate and found that an opinion writer’s human rights were violated when he was fined for one of his articles. In July 2013, Michael Falzon, who served as a Cabinet minister between 1987 and 1996, claimed that his right of freedom of expression had been violated when he was fined for defamation. The case dated to May 2007, when, speaking in public, the present Minister for the Family, Children’s Rights and Social Solidarity, Michael Falzon, then deputy leader of the Labour Party, said he had received an anonymous e-mail and threatening letters. Dr Falzon said he complained to the Commissioner of Police asking him to investigate. A few days later, Mr Falzon wrote an article in a newspaper commenting, among other things, that one could see indications “that within Labour there are people who can influence and interfere in decisions taken by the police force. This is happening when they are still in Opposition. Asking what would happen in this area once they are in government is, therefore, a legitimate question.” Dr Falzon sued him for libel, and in 2010, the Magistrates’ Court...