Minister: Insensitive of prosecutor to join Fenech defence so early, Chamber writes to AG

The Maltese justice ministry has declared that a state prosecutor who left the Attorney General’s office to join the defence team of Yorgen Fenech – alleged mastermind in the Caruana Galizia assassination – has never worked on the case.

In a statement, justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis said that following verifications conducted with the Office of the Attorney General, the ministry was informed that Charles Mercieca – son of the former Labour MP Franco Mercieca – never worked directly or indirectly on the proceedings related to the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, nor on any proceedings connected to Yorgen Fenech, the Tumas magnate.

“However, the decision taken by the said advocate to assume the patronage of Mr Fenech at this early moment is insensitive,” Zammit Lewis said of Mercieca’s decision to pay his leave and instantly work on the Fenech legal team a mere 24 hours after leaving the AG’s employ.

“Whilst expressing disappointment, the ministry expected more prudence and caution both from the advocate and the legal firm in question. In the meantime, the government is committed and determined to move ahead and implement the required reforms to further strengthen our democratic institutions,” Zammit Lewis said.

Mercieca graduated as a lawyer in 2017. The Attorney General's office told MaltaToday he was employed as a trainee lawyer in July 2018 and promoted to lawyer in line with normal procedure in January 2020.

The AG said Mercieca never worked on the Fenech prosecution.

The Criminal Code provides that advocates who would have acted on behalf of one party, and then change over in the same lawsuit, can only do so with the consent of the first party, under pain of penalties.

Chamber of Advocates: ethics breach if Mercieca worked on Fenech prosecution

The Chamber of Advocates is verifying the facts on a possible breach of ethics by the ‘defection’ of a prosecutor from the pffice of the Attorney General to the Yorgen Fenech defence team.

This after a furore erupted following the sudden resignation of lawyer Charles Mercieca from his job at the Attorney General’s office yesterday. Mercieca gave his former employer no notice, instead paying for his notice period, and then appeared in court as part of Yorgen Fenech’s defence team the next day. Yorgen Fenech is accused of masterminding the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Chamber president Louis Degabriele told MaltaToday that he had written a letter to the Attorney General to ascertain the level of involvement Mercieca had in Fenech’s cases, but said it would be premature to speculate on outcomes. “The move in itself does not constitute a breach,” he said.

Under the Code of Ethics for Lawyers and Legal Procurators, there would be a potential breach of ethics only if Mercieca had been involved in Fenech’s cases, he said. Such a potential breach would then be reported to the Commission for the Administration of Justice, which would investigate the case and impose sanctions, if required.

The only thing the chamber could do, reiterated Degabriele, was that if there is a prima facie case, pass it on to the Commission, which would investigate and speak to Mercieca, the Attorney General and other persons involved.

There are no legal prohibitions against lawyers moving from legal office to legal office, Degabriele explained, although the Criminal Code provides that advocates who would have acted on behalf of one party, and then change over in the same lawsuit, can only do so with the consent of the first party.

In fact, there have been numerous occasions where lawyers left the employ of the Attorney General and went into private practise, he said. “The issue with this case is the timing and nature of the case being defended.” 

Other reactions

The Caruana Galizia family said that the timing of Mercieca’s transition to criminal defence lawyer pointed to “prior collusion” between Fenech’s defence team and a serving criminal prosecutor.

“The implications for the Office of the Attorney General and for Malta’s already weak criminal justice system are serious. In the interest of preserving the integrity of the prosecution’s case and ensuring justice is served, the family of the victim have written to the Attorney General to immediately launch an internal investigation and to treat this matter with the urgency it deserves.

“As Dr Mercieca’s actions are in flagrant breach of the Code of Ethics & Conduct for Advocates, the letter was copied to the Commission for the Administration of Justice, which is responsible for discipline over advocates.”

The Nationalist Party yesterday called for a clear declaration from Zammit Lewis on whether the lawyer was first contacted by his client, and how this was allowed to happen. “Zammit Lewis also has the responsibility of declaring what measures were taken in order to ensure that any proof, documents and evidence of the case do not result in irreparable damage of the case. The Opposition awaits a clear declaration on what steps the justice minister will be taking,” shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi said.