Retired judge Lawrence Quintano to chair Commission Against Corruption

Retired judge Lawrence Quintano will be chairing the Permanent Commission Against Corruption, with Magistrate Joseph Apap Bologna and lawyer Yana Micallef Stafrace forming part of the commission.

They were appointed for a five-year tenure which started on 9 September. Their appointment was approved by the President of the Republic.

In a statement, the government said the appointment of the commission comes “after a detailed analysis of proposals for reform in the sector”, not least the recently passed the Whistleblower’s Act, to encourage the revelation of corruption by protecting those who reveal it, and a law regulating party financing.

The reform of the Permanent Commission Against Corruption had previously frozen the appointmenof members sitting on the Permanent Commission Against Corruption.

The previous commission members’ term had come to an in November 2013. 

Set up in 1998, the Permanent Commission has been flagged as “unsuccessful” by the justice reform commission led by judge emeritus Giovanni Bonello.

In its report, Bonello’s commission points out that despite having investigated 425 cases, the police never arraigned anyone based on the PCAC’s outcome.

Based on measure 295 of the 450 proposals tabled by the justice reform commission, it was suggested that the PCAC’s functions should be passed over to a general prosecutor.