Ombudsman needs constitutional definition as ‘public officer’, says university dean

The dean of the Faculty of Laws at the University of Malta, Kevin Aquilina, has called for amendments to the Constitution to clarify whether the role of the Ombudsman constitutes that of a public officer or not.

The issue concerns the Commission for the Administration of Justice’s declaration that as chairperson of the Employment Commission, Ingrid Zammit Young was constitutionally barred from being appointed a magistrate before three years from her last day on the commission.

The same constitutional obstacle was raised for a sitting magistrate by Justice Minister Owen Bonnici, who told the CAJ during its hearing on Zammit Young, that Magistrate Francesco Depasquale was appointed two and a half years after he resigned a one-month tenure on the Employment Commission back in October 2008.

But Bonnici also raised the fact that even Ombudsman Joseph Said Pullicino had been appointed in 2005 – by unanimous resolution of the House – after having served as chairman of the Broadcasting Authority, a constitutionally appointed authority.

The Constitution bars any BA member from eligible for “any public office” within a period of three years commencing with the day on which he last held office. The provision is a ‘revolving doors’ mechanism to prevent commission members from currying favour with the government of the day.

“The position is not clear,” Aquilina told MaltaToday when asked whether a member of an authority or commission could also serve as an Ombudsman.

Like the Auditor General and the deputy Auditor General, the Ombudsman is an Officer of Parliament. But Aquilina explained that the Ombudsman, in terms of the Ombudsman Act, is an Officer of Parliament and unlike other officers of parliament, the Ombudsman is not listed as a public officer.

“Ideally, to clarify matters, the Ombudsman should be specifically listed or excluded in the Constitution from being a public officer. The provision in the Constitution on the Ombudsman, section 64A, does not clarify the matter,” Aquilina added.

Said Pullicino was appointed by unanimous resolution of the House of Representatives appointed Ombudsman on 12 December 2005. The appointment came straight after he sat on the Broadcasting Authority as chairman for three years, a position he held up to December 2005.

Said Pullicino was reconfirmed for a second term in March 2011.