Government’s legal defence in ICC hospitals case cost €11 million, party president paid €267,000 in fees

The government’s total bill for the case of Steward Healthcare v Malta, which was concluded by the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) tribunal last week, amounted to approximately €11 million.

According to the cost reports submitted by the government in its counterclaim against Steward Healthcare, Malta’s legal representation alone cost €8 million, with an additional €2.2 million spent on expert witnesses who were tasked with submitting detailed reports to the ICC tribunal. The remainder of the bill was used to cover the ICC’s administrative fees.

While far from being the biggest beneficiary of the government’s expansive legal budget for this case, Labour Party President Alex Sciberras was hired to defend the government for a total sum of €267,420, raising eyebrows about Sciberras’ dual role as party representative and legal counsel.

Former opposition MP Jason Azzopardi was one of the first to flag Sciberras’ involvement in the arbitration case, noting that although Sciberras was brought in on the legal team prior to his election to party president, his decision to remain involved in the case afterwards was “simply not on.”

By far the largest single expense item in the government’s substantial bill is a payment of €6.3 million to Clyde & Co. This global legal firm describes itself as a leading specialist in risk management.

Ganado Advocates, one of Malta’s oldest and well-connected legal firms, also provided services to the tune of €1.3 million.

Meanwhile, two legal experts from HKA (Anthony Charlton and Chris Williams), another major global firm which specialises in risk management and “litigation support”, cost the government a total of €1.8 million in fees.

While the government sought to present the ICC’s judgment as a victory, the significant legal costs incurred at the taxpayer’s expense serve as a reminder of the vast amount of resources that had to be spent to unravel the catastrophic fallout from the fraudulent hospitals concession.

You can read a complete analysis of the judgment here.