Chief judge laments muzzled watchdog

Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri has lamented the “unhappy state of affairs” with the Commission for the Administration of Justice being unable to make statements in the face of allegations about a member of the judiciary. He would not confirm or deny whether the Commission was looking into allegations against Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, in light of the censure the Maltese judge received from the International Olympic Committee’s Ethics Commission in his capacity as Malta Olympic committee president. The Chief Justice said that the law binds the Commission to secrecy. But he made clear that he was not pleased with the situation. “I know this is an unhappy state of affairs. It is not a situation I am happy with and I have already said, in speeches I made, that the situation within the Commission needs to be reviewed. For as long as the situation stays as it is, however, I will respect the law,” he said. The comment comes after the IOC’s ethics body on Thursday rapped Mr Justice Farrugia Sacco and Joe Cassar ­– the president and general secretary of the MOC – for engaging in a conversation with undercover journalists posing as ticket agents looking to circumvent the official sales...