Other documents issued by the Standards Commissioner
Documents issued by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life, other than case reports and annual reports, can be downloaded from this page.
Guidance note on persons of trust
In Malta the term “person of trust” is commonly understood as referring to any political appointee. But the term is defined more narrowly in the Standards in Public Life Act. This note provides an overview of political appointments in Maltese public administration and explains which political appointees are considered persons of trust as defined in the Act.
Updated: 19 April 2024 | Language: English and Maltese | Download document in English | Download document in Maltese
Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives – 5 December 2023
The Commissioner wrote to the Speaker to seek authorisation from the Standards Committee to publish decisions not to investigate complaints. This letter is a follow-up to the Commissioner’s letter of 15 June 2023 (see below).
Date issued: 5 December 2023 | Language: Maltese | Download document
Letter to the Prime Minister – 3 November 2023
Under cover of this letter the Commissioner forwarded to the Prime Minister a report prepared by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the declaration of assets and interests by ministers and members of Parliament. The report makes proposals for the reform of the declaration system. In his letter the Commissioner formally recommended under article 13(1)(g) of the Standards in Public Life Act that the government should implement the proposals in the report. See this page for more information about the report.
Date issued: 3 November 2023 | Language: English | Download document
Recommendation to the Speaker – 18 July 2023
The Commissioner wrote to the Speaker to formally recommend, in terms of article 13(1)(g) of the Standards in Public Life Act, that the guidelines on advertising issued by the previous Commissioner in August 2021 should be incorporated in the code of ethics for ministers. This would give the guidelines a legal basis and eliminate any doubts about their validity.
Date issued: 18 July 2023 | Language: Maltese | Download document
Letter to the Speaker – 15 June 2023
The Commissioner wrote to the Speaker seeking authorisation from the Standards Committee to publish decisions not to investigate complaints in situations where the Commissioner considers such publication to be justified. At present, when the Commissioner decides not to investigate a complaint he can send his decision to the complainant and the person who was the subject of the complaint, but he cannot publish the decision.
Date issued: 15 June 2023 | Language: Maltese | Download document
Review of campaign spending by general election candidates
This report is the outcome of a landscape review of campaign spending by candidates in the 2022 general election. The report looks at how candidates campaigned, how they reported campaign costs, and how campaign spending is regulated. The report finds that there is no effective control over spending by general election candidates, and it raises concerns about how this can affect standards in public life.
Date issued: 30 September 2022 | Language: English | Download document
Letter to the Prime Minister – 27 September 2022
Under cover of this letter the Commissioner forwarded to the Prime Minister a report prepared by the OECD proposing that the codes of ethics for ministers and members of Parliament should be revised and strengthened. The letter made a formal recommendation under article 13(1)(g) of the Standards in Public Life Act for the revision of the codes as proposed in the report. See this page for more information about the report.
Date issued: 27 September 2022 | Language: English | Download document
Letter to the Prime Minister – 11 July 2022
Under cover of this letter, the Commissioner forwarded to the Prime Minister three reports prepared by the OECD concerning the operations of the Commissioner’s office, the Standards in Public Life Act, and the regulation of lobbying in Malta. The Commissioner stated that the first report was being forwarded for information purposes only, while the second and third reports were being forwarded with a view to their implementation. The Commissioner made a formal recommendation under article 13(1)(f) of the Standards in Public Life Act that the government should implement the report on lobbying. See this page for more information on the reports.
Date issued: 11 July 2022 | Language: English | Download document
Guidelines on government advertising and promotional material
This document sets out guidelines that are meant to ensure that ministers do not spend public funds on personal or political publicity. The Commissioner issued the guidelines with the intention of referring to them in cases involving government advertising and promotional material. However, on 28 June 2023 the Speaker decided during a meeting of Parliament’s Standards Committee that cases should not be concluded on the basis of the guidelines because they lacked the force of law. The Commissioner reacted by means of a letter to the Speaker dated 18 July 2023 (see above).
Date issued: 2 August 2021 | Language: English | Download document
Letter to the Speaker – 6 May 2021
In this letter the Commissioner addressed further allegations concerning him and his office that were made by the Hon. Glenn Bedingfield MP during a speech in Parliament on 3 May 2021.
Date issued: 6 May 2021 | Language: Maltese | Download document
Letter to the Speaker – 21 April 2021
In this letter the Commissioner addressed allegations concerning him and his office that were made by the Hon. Glenn Bedingfield MP during a speech in Parliament on 19 April 2021.
Date issued: 21 April 2021 | Language: Maltese | Download document
Letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives – 9 April 2021
In this letter the Commissioner expressed concerns about delays on the part of the Standards Committee in publishing case reports that were referred to it. The Commissioner also took the view that in all cases the publication of case reports should be his responsibility.
Date issued: 9 April 2021 | Language: English | Download document
Letter to the Speaker – 4 March 2021
This letter set out the Commissioner’s views on a ruling issued by the Speaker on 2 March 2021 concerning the Commissioner’s power to investigate former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in connection with the detention of journalists at the Auberge de Castille in November 2019.
Date issued: 4 March 2021 | Language: English | Download document
Decision concerning a request by Dr Jason Azzopardi MP for an investigation
On 8 November 2020 the Hon Dr Jason Azzopardi MP requested the Commissioner to investigate him in connection with reports that he had benefited from free accommodation during a visit to Tel Aviv in 2017. This document sets out the Commissioner’s decision concerning Dr Azzopardi’s request.
Date issued: 10 November 2020 | Language: Maltese | Download document
Revised codes of ethics for MPs and ministers
This report proposed revised codes of ethics for members of the House of Representatives and for ministers and parliamentary secretaries. It was presented to the Standards Committee as a recommendation in terms of article 13(1)(g) of the Standards in Public Life Act.
Date issued: 29 July 2020 | Language: English | Download document
Proposals for the regulation of lobbying: summary document
This eight-page document summarised the Commissioner’s proposals for the regulation of lobbying. It is available in Maltese and English and can be read without reference to the main document (see below).
Date issued: 6 April 2020 | Language: English and Maltese | Download document in English | Download document in Maltese
Proposals for the regulation of lobbying: consultation paper
This consultation paper set out proposals for a new law to regulate lobbying and invited feedback from the public. The proposals were incorporated by the OECD in a report on the regulation of lobbying which was presented to the Prime Minister.
Date issued: 28 February 2020 | Language: English | Download document
Statement by the Commissioner on government jobs for backbench MPs
This statement followed a report issued by the Commissioner on 5 July 2019 in which he found that it was fundamentally wrong for the government to give appointments to backbench MPs, and a response published by the Principal Permanent Secretary on 11 November 2019 arguing that there was nothing wrong with this practice. In this statement the Commissioner explained why he disagreed with the Principal Permanent Secretary’s views.
Date issued: 22 November 2019 | Language: English and Maltese | Download document in English | Download document in Maltese
Proposals on constitutional reform
This 138-page report presents detailed proposals for change to the Constitution of Malta. The proposals are aimed at improving standards in public life by strengthening Parliament and the judiciary, reinforcing the principle of merit in appointments, and putting Maltese public administration on a sounder footing. The report includes draft constitutional amendments that are based on these proposals.
The Commissioner for Standards presented this report to the President of Malta in response to his call for public submissions on constitutional change.
Date issued: 30 October 2019 | Language: English | Download document
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