Mallia to file counter protest against Ombudsman

Home Affairs minister Manuel Mallia will next week file a counter protest against the Ombudsman, a ministry statement said today.  

Yesterday, the Ombudsman, Joseph Said Pullicino, filed a judicial protest against the Mallia and the ministry’s permanent secretary Kevin Mahoney over the ministry’s refusal to uphold requests for information.

The ministry explained that while respecting the Ombudsman’s institution, “the minister wants to make it clear that he never denied AFM members the opportunity to lodge their complaints and have these addressed, but this must be done in respect of the law.”

Moreover, the ministry insisted that new avenues have been created, including the Board of Injustices, which it said had concluded that the majority of complaints lodged were justified and these will be addressed in the coming days. 

While reiterating that the Ombudsman “can investigate all complaints filed by all members of the army below the commissioned officer rank, the minister will fully cooperate as he has always done.”

A non-commissioned officer is a military officer who obtain their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks and not by appointment.

On the other hand, the ministry pointed out that commissioned officials have other avenues to file their complaints as outlined by the Armed Forces Act.

The Ombudsman has been investigating complaints raised by army officers on appointments and promotions. The investigation came to a standstill after the Home Affairs Ministry claimed the Ombudsman did not have jurisdiction to cover complaints raised by members of the Armed Forces of Malta.

Mallia argued that, according to the AFM Act, complaints should be brought to the attention of the President of Malta by the Commander, through the Minister.

The Ombudsman is now asking the court to give a ruling on the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. In his judicial protest, the Ombudsman argued that it was his role to defend citizens and investigate allegations of injustices and discrimination.

The complaints with the Ombudsman were lodged in September 2013, following the promotions awarded to Majors and lieutenant colonels. Fellow army officers complained that they had unfairly lost the promotions to other officers who had less experience, fewer qualifications and lower seniority.

In the judicial protest, the Ombudsman said he was “surprised and worried” by the Ministry’s negative reaction to the investigation.