Farrugia Sacco files criminal libel suit against Ombudsman

In an unprecedented twist in a controversy which has engulfed Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco, as President of the Malta Olympic Committee over an alleged Olympic ticketing scandal revealed last Summer by The Sunday Times of London, the Ombudsman - former Chief Justice - Joseph Said Pullicino has been served with a suit for criminal libel, over his letter to President George Abela as Chairman of the Administration of Justice, calling on it to relieve the sitting Judge from his judicial duties over the London 2012 and Sochi Winter Olympic tickets.

In a statement issued by Farrugia Sacco Advocates, announced that the Judge will be filing for criminal libel against the former Chief Justice.

The statement said that Mr. Justice Farrugia Sacco shall also be communicating with the Commission of Administration of Justice, in order to provide the real sequence of events, "and not the malicious interpretations given by certain journalists, and which politicians should respect one of the most important pillars of a democracy being the separation of powers. Such pillar exists in order to have any member of the judiciary give his or her judgments, of whatever nature, in accordance with the oath taken, being that of acting without fear and hence not feel intimidated when giving such judgment. Mr. Justice Farrugia Sacco has been serving in the Judiciary for 32 years."

In a rare statement for an office of the Parliament, Said Pullicino said that as Ombudsman he was precluded by law from expressing an opinion on the judiciary and the behaviour of the judiciary on the exercise of their duties.

"This does not however prevent me from expressing my opinion on the effects of such behaviour on the proper administration of justice in the country, all the more so when this concerns actions which are not in any way related to the recognised functions of a Judge," Said Pullicino said, calling the news that Farrugia Sacco was somehow implicated in a case of corruption 'shocking'.

"The news in itself, irrespective of any judgement as regards guilt or otherwise, severely undermines trust in the administration of justice."

In his letter, Said Pullicino called on President Abela to see that the Commission for the Administration of Justice, which he presides, uses its moral authority to ensure Farrugia Sacco "is immediately relieved from attending to his judicial duties until the charged levelled against him are finally determined in full respect of his constitutional rights, including that of the presumption of innocence."

The decision to have Farrugia Sacco step down pending the inquiry must ultimately be taken by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, a member of the CAJ.

Said Pullicino himself wrote that he deemed Farrugia Sacco should "responsibly suspend himself" to be best able to defend himself with the least possible negative effects on the administration of justice. 

"I am of the opinion that such action needs to be taken also in the light of the advice tendered to you by the Prime Minister to dissolve Parliament on 7 January 2013," Said Pullicino said, referring to the imminent elections set for 9 March.

Farrugia Sacco has so far resisted calls to resign by the Prime Minister and the Nationalist Party after the International Olympics Commission's ethics commission found that the judge and president of the Malta Olympics Commission had entertained the requests of two undercover journalists, posing as ticket resellers, as to how to skirt limits on the resale of tickets for the Sochi winter games.

Last Sunday, Farrugia Sacco said that "the Prime Minister was trying to be funny" when he reacted to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi's calls to resign in the wake of the controversy.

In the statement, Farrugia Sacco Advocates - the Judge's family's own firm - said that the MOC President is nonetheless filing an action to CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sports - the World's highest Tribunal on Sports) and in the Courts of Lausanne, Switzerland complaining about the proceedings of the Ethics Commission.

Farrugia Sacco is embroiled in an Olympic ticketing controversy, following an investigation by two undercover reporters from The Sunday Times of London who posed as authorised tickets resellers. The IOC's ethics commission said this week that Farrugia Sacco had entertained the two reporters' offer by allowing them to "prove their point" on how to skirt rules regarding the sale of Olympics tickets for the Sochi winter games. MOC secretary-general Joe Cassar was said to have "tarnished" the reputation of the Games with his involvement in the same talks.

This is not the first time that the government fires a missive against Farrugia Sacco - the judge had refused to step down from the post of MOC president when the Commission for the Administration of Justice alerted him to the possibility of an ethical conflict due to the MOC's regular dealings with business sponsorships.

Farrugia Sacco has reacted to Gonzi's call for his resignation, saying the prime minister was "talking nonsense".