The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has issued draft guidelines to regulate advertising and promotional material by the government and public entities. The guidelines are intended to ensure that ministers do not spend public funds on personal or political publicity. These guidelines do not represent new rules. They indicate how the Commissioner intends to…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has issued an annual report covering his second full year of operations. He presented the final version of the report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who laid it before the House today. The report outlines the role of the Commissioner for Standards as set out…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that there was no breach of ethics in connection with the appointment of Malta’s ambassador to Ghana. The Standards Commissioner came to this conclusion after considering a complaint alleging that the ambassador should not have been appointed because he had a business relationship with another Maltese…
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…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has written to the Speaker to express his concern over delays by Parliament’s Standards Committee in publishing case reports that are referred to it by the Commissioner. The Commissioner’s letter follows the suspension of a Committee meeting because the two members nominated by the Prime Minister failed to…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that Prime Minister Robert Abela was not in breach of ethics when he replied to questions from journalists without wearing a mask. This incident occurred on 23 October 2020, when the Prime Minister inaugurated the new tunnel underpass at Santa Luċija. Shortly after the official inauguration…
Dr George Hyzler, Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, has stated that official press releases issued through the Department of Information should not include partisan political statements. The Commissioner for Standards came to this conclusion after considering a complaint by Prof Kevin Cassar against the Hon Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has concluded that there was no breach of ethics by Minister Edward Zammit Lewis in the engagement of Dr Cheryl Azzopardi as a legal advisor in his ministry. The Standards Commissioner arrived at this conclusion after considering a complaint by Carmel Cacopardo. The complaint was based on an…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, Dr George Hyzler, has considered a complaint about a minister who allegedly failed to take action against abusive behaviour by relatives of his. The Commissioner decided that an investigation was not warranted because it was up to the Planning Authority to take action against the abuse in question,…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has found that the rules whereby members of Parliament in public sector employment can be released from work to attend parliamentary activities are being abused. The Commissioner came to this conclusion after considering a complaint against opposition MPs who work in the public sector and who allegedly were…
