Blame the law, not the judge - Dean of Faculty of Laws

The law sets the bar too high for an inquiry into suspected money laundering to take place, raising serious rule-of-law issues, the Dean of the Faculty of Laws believes, calling for a re-assessment of the relevant legal provision. “The judgment makes good law; it is the law itself which makes bad law,” Kevin Aquilina said, referring to Mr Justice Giovanni Grixti’s judgment on Tuesday rejecting a request by former Opposition leader Simon Busuttil for a magisterial inquiry into the Panama Papers revelations. “Essentially the implication of this is that it serves as a disincentive for public spirited persons and honest whistleblowers to lodge complaints of such a nature in the future,” Prof. Aquilina said in answer to questions from this newspaper. Under the law as amended in 2006, anyone, and not just the police or Attorney General, can request a magisterial investigation, known as an ‘in genere’ inquiry. In his decision, Mr Justice Grixti said that the former Opposition leader had supplied a number of facts which in themselves did not indicate any wrongdoing. Prof. Aquilina said the argument could be made that the judge “expected a more onerous level of proof from Dr Busuttil...