Five recommendations from standards czar still pending

At least five recommendations made by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life are yet to be acted upon, according to the office’s 2023 annual report.

This marks the first report under the tenure of Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, who took office on 8 March 2023. 

During 2023, the Commissioner received 27 complaints and closed an equal number. Of these, he determined that 20 complaints did not require investigation or further action. The remaining seven complaints were addressed through five investigations, as some complaints pertained to the same issue and were thus consolidated.

Four out of the five investigations concluded that misconduct had occurred. In three of these cases, the misconduct was deemed not serious, and the Commissioner resolved them after receiving apologies from the involved individuals. The fourth case was referred to Parliament’s Standards Committee, in accordance with the Standards in Public Life Act, due to its more serious nature.

The annual report also highlights other significant activities, notably the proposals made by the standards czar

On November 3, 2023, the Commissioner sent the OECD report on asset and interest declarations to the Prime Minister, recommending the government implement its proposals. In fact, the OECD report was the subject of three recommendations by the current, and past standards czar, but as the annual report noted, "All three recommendations remain outstanding."

Previously, on June 15, 2023, the Commissioner suggested to Parliament’s Standards Committee that he should have the authority to publish decisions not to investigate allegations. He argued that non-publication often led to public misinterpretation, as complaints based on media reports already entered the public domain. He emphasised that official publication by the Commissioner would ensure accurate dissemination of information.

On December 5, 2023, the Commissioner reminded the Committee that his proposal had been pending for over five months and requested prompt consideration.

Earlier, on June 28, 2023, the Standards Committee rejected a report by the previous Commissioner regarding government advertisements in the newspaper KullĦadd, citing a lack of legal standing for the guidelines. The Commissioner highlighted that these guidelines were developed following a previous case and were intended to clarify the ministerial code of ethics. He recommended that these guidelines be formalised as rules within the code of ethics to ensure they had a legal basis and to enable action against ethical breaches in government advertisements.