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After being rendered toothless by a landmark court judgment, the party financing watchdog is set for a prolonged period in limbo, amid uncertainty on when the necessary legal amendments will be moved by the government. The case was instituted by the NationaliState of limbo looming for party financing watchdog
After being rendered toothless by a landmark court judgment, the party financing watchdog is set for a prolonged period in limbo, amid uncertainty on when the necessary legal amendments will be moved by the government. The case was instituted by the Nationalist Party which had argued that the Electoral Commission, by law vested with the function of regulator, could not be judge and jury. The legal challenge came in the wake of an investigation which the commission had launched in 2017 on alleged irregularities involving large donations from Silvio Debono’s db Group to the PN. Though a lower court had initially dismissed these objections, the decision was subsequently overturned on appeal by the Constitutional Court presided by Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi and justices Giannino Caruana Demajo and Noel Cuschieri. In a 119-page judgement, the court noted that the commission could not investigate and impose penalties as this would be in breach of the fundamental concept of “independence and impartiality”. Furthermore, it held that even the setting up of sub-committees to investigate any claims would be in breach of the fundamental right to a fair hearing. In view of this a copy... Read more