The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that ministers or parliamentary secretaries who used an official ministry activity for personal self-promotion would be in breach of ethics. The Standards Commissioner came to this conclusion after considering a complaint alleging that Parliamentary Secretary Alicia Bugeja Said had invited employees of her ministry to a…
Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, is recommending that the guidelines on government advertising issued by his office two years ago should be incorporated into law. The history these guidelines goes back to March 2021 when the previous Commissioner, Dr George Hyzler, referred a case involving an advertisement issued by…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that a government-sponsored post on Facebook represents a breach of ethics because it featured a minister. The sponsored post in question appeared on 5 October 2022 in the official Facebook page of the Ministry for Finance and Employment. It consisted of a graphic featuring a photograph…
On 27 June 2022 Parliament’s Standards Committee authorised the publication of a case report by the Commissioner for Standards concerning official advertisements that appeared in a newspaper supplement. The supplement in question had been issued by the newspaper KullĦadd on 16 January 2022 to mark two years since the Hon. Dr Robert Abela became Prime…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that Minister Ian Borg did not commit a breach of ethics when he commissioned an advertisement to wish the public a happy Easter. The advert in question appeared in the newspaper It-Torċa on Easter Sunday, 4 April 2021. It included a photograph of Minister Ian Borg…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has issued guidelines to regulate the use of advertising and promotional material by the government and public entities. These guidelines do not represent new rules. They indicate how the Commissioner will apply the existing code of ethics for ministers in cases that involve publicly-funded advertisements or promotional material….
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that Minister Carmelo Abela misused public funds when he commissioned a full-page newspaper advertisement featuring a prominent photo of himself. The advert was published in most Sunday papers on 18 October 2020, and it was evidently a form of self-promotion since it contained minimal information. The…
Dr George Hyzler, Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, has concluded that it would be discrimination and a breach of ethics if a minister invited some media houses but not others to press conferences or other media events organised by him or her. The Commissioner for Standards came to this conclusion after considering a complaint…
