Constitutional expert: mass deprivation of citizenships is illegal

The judicial protest filed by the Nationalist Party does not affect the citizenship programme's legitimacy. But it also does not make depriving individuals of their citizenship legitimate, constitutional expert Ian Refalo said.

Speaking on TVM2's Realtà, Refalo said one could not simply strip individuals of their acquired rights.

"Citizenship is a matter of fundamental rights and it cannot be repealed capriciously... neither can one simply grab a class of citizens and repeal their citizenship. This would be illegal," he said.

Presented by Brian Hansford, the programme was debating the judicial protest filed by the PN on Monday and the agreement secured on Wednesday between the government and the European Commission.

Refalo reiterated the government had the legal right to grant citizenship to whoever it deems suitable and it would be incorrect for a succeeding government to break that agreement.

"Moreover, the applicant would also acquire rights that are protected by the European Convention and the Lisbon Treaty. Those rights cannot be withdrawn without compensating the individual concerned," he said.

Similarly, constitutional lawyer Austin Bencini said the judicial protest had serious political implications especially since it also affected human rights confirming that the actions in the judicial protest could be in breach of EU regulations.

Academic Ray Mangion was more vocal in expressing his opinion against the PN's judicial protest, pointing out that a reference in the present tense to the Commission's investigation already invalidated the judicial protest once the investigation was terminated.

He also explained that the reference to Article 4 of the Treaty of the European Union was subject to various interpretations: "It is a vague concept."

Mangion pointed out that nothing in the judicial protest showed the programme was in breach of Maltese law.

"Hypothetically speaking, if the PN were to follow through with this judicial protest it would be opening up itself to a myriad of constitutional cases against the Nationalist government," he said.

Opposition's spokesman for home affairs Jason Azzopardi - a guest on the programme together with parliamentary secretary for justice Owen Bonnici - pointed out that the judicial protest had been filed on Monday, two days before the government "was forced to include a residency clause".

Reiterating the PN would not change its position before studying the amended legal notice, Azzopardi said the Opposition would no longer "object in principle" to the Individual Investor Programme if the "genuine link" is included in the text.

The PN had repeatedly called for a five-year residency period and, according to Owen Bonnici, it would have never accepted to negotiate down to one year.

At one point, Azzopardi alleged that during a negotiation meeting, Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia said he would "resign from parliament" if a residency period were to be introduced.

Bonnici took umbrage at Azzopardi's comment, saying it was unacceptable that conversations held around the negotiating table were being divulged.

On the legal notice, the junior minister revealed that the legal notice did not specify a period of stay on the island, in case it took more than 12 months for an applicant's citizenship to be processed.