Muscat’s latest attack on inquiry shot down by courts

Disgraced former prime minister Joseph Muscat’s latest court application attempting to dismiss investigations by a magisterial inquiry has been shot down by the courts.

Muscat’s application, in which he claimed his right to a fair hearing was being breached, was rejected on Monday in a decree by Judge Doreen Clark.

The application was made in relation to an ongoing magisterial inquiry in which Muscat is a suspect, led by Magistrate Gabriella Vella.

The inquiry, launched by the courts in 2019 upon Repubblika’s request, is investigating the details of the Vitals/Steward Hospitals deal.

The deal saw three public hospitals handed over to the concessionaires in 2015 for their management and revamping in a “fraudulent” contract.

In his applications to the constitutional section of the civil court, Muscat claimed that his right to a fair trial was breached by the inquiry, as he was not allowed to defend himself once he started being considered a suspect in 2022.

Another court decree last month rejected a request by Muscat to have Repubblika’s original applications presented. The applications did not mention Muscat by name, which the former prime minister insisted led to a breach of his rights due to a lack of notification that he was under investigation.

That assertion has been shot down by the courts.

In comments to The Shift, Repubblika President Robert Aquilina said Muscat’s application to the court “shows that he is frustrated that he cannot stop justice.”

He noted that “unlike with the Police Force, where Muscat swapped out police commissioners according to his needs, he cannot control the courts.”

Muscat has previously also attempted to have Vella, the magistrate leading the inquiry, recuse herself.

He attempted to sow doubt in her independence and has claimed the investigation progress is being leaked.

The Shift has reported how Muscat and, more recently, Prime Minister Robert Abela have aligned their rhetoric to delegitimise the courts and judiciary.

Their comments form an apparent attempt to preemptively discredit the inquiry’s findings.