Ombudsman – Judge should resign pending Commission inquiry

National Ombudsman and former Chief Justice Joseph Said Pullicino has published a letter to the President of the Republic, calling him on to use the moral authority of the Commission for the Administration of Justice to have Judge Lino Farrugia Sacco stand down from his duties, pending an inquiry by the CAJ into allegations of corruption.

Farrugia Sacco has 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.

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 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".