Watch: Public prosecutor to be handpicked by government

The person who eventually takes up the role of public prosecutor under proposed reforms will be a government appointee, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici has confirmed. It was announced last month that the government would be hiving off the prosecution role from the Attorney General’s functions.  Speaking to the Times of Malta, Dr Bonnici initially appeared reluctant to state this fact outright.  When first asked how the prosecutor would be appointed, the Justice Minister said the Venice Commission, which is a constitutional adviser to the Council of Europe, spoke about the matter in its report, and he would be sticking to what the report said.  Questioned if the Venice Commission report said the prosecutor should be appointed by the government, the Justice Ministry coyly stated that the report had been public for months.  “So that is my answer,” he said.  Pressed again if the prosecutor would be appointed by the government, Dr Bonnici said that point would have been relevant had the Venice Commission mentioned other methods of appointment.  “You have to take a look at the report. It is a structured report. You cannot take this point in isolation. The point is the person occupying...