Repubblika ask to join Joseph Muscat's Vitals recusal case

Repubblika have asked to be admitted as a party to Joseph Muscat’s constitutional case in which he is requesting that the magistrate conducting an inquiry into the hospitals concession be replaced.

The rule of law NGO tabled the urgent court application this morning, in the acts of the constitutional case filed by former Prime Minister yesterday.

It points out that the magisterial inquiry into the hospital privatisation deal with Vitals Global Healthcare had been launched in 2019 after Repubblika had filed a legal request for one in court. The NGO also argues that Muscat made several references to Repubblika in yesterday’s constitutional application and had given a skewed interpretation of its actions in his regard. These facts meant that Repubblika had a “direct, concrete and substantial” interest in Muscat’s constitutional case that justified its admission as a party. 

The same applied to Notary Robert Aquilina, the NGO’s president, it said, pointing to the fact that Muscat had attached a Facebook post written by Aquilina to his constitutional application.

Repubblika strongly denied Muscat’s assertion, made in constitutional application, that it had prior knowledge of the fact that the police were going to search his residence, adding that it could only rebut this allegation if allowed to intervene in the constitutional case.

The application, citing jurisprudence from the Court of Appeal, pointed out that anyone who could prove a valid interest in an ongoing case between two parties, to the satisfaction of the court, may be admitted as a party to it, but the admitted party could not then stop the case from proceeding. It also quotes the same court’s 2019 decision to allow lawyer Joe Brincat to intervene in the case filed by activist Emanuel Delia against the Minister for Justice to assert his right to freedom of speech.

Lawyer Jason Azzopardi signed Repubblika’s application.