Frank Sammut claims breach of fair hearing over PAC testimony

Frank Sammut, charged with corruption in the Enemalta fuel scandal, has filed a constitutional court application claiming a breach of his right to a fair hearing after being summoned to the Public Accounts Committee.

Sammut was called to testify in the Public Accounts Committee's hearing on the Auditor General's report into Enemalta's fuel procurement policy.

Sammut is charged with corruption and money laundering in a court of criminal inquiry, for having accepted bribes from an agent of Trafigura for the supply of oil to Enemalta.

Sammut is saying that a Speaker's ruling allows him not to answer any questions from MPs which might incriminate him, and that the Speaker should rule on any question from an MP deemed to be incriminating.

Through his defence lawyer Joe Giglio, Sammut is saying the Speaker's ruling is a breach of his right to a fair hearing, since he already stands accused in a court of law.

The PAC's guidelines states that witnesses are obliged to reply to MPs' questions deemed to be objectionable, unless a committee member requests that the issue of admissibility be referred to the Speaker for a decision.

"The Speaker is certainly not au courant with the current criminal procedures against Sammut, more so with his line of defence, and what the Speaker might believe to be an innocuous question could be crucial to the witness's defence.

"The Speaker cannot offer any necessary guarantees that his right to a fair hearing could not be impinged upon. Parliamentary supremacy is limited by the Constitution," the writ reads.