The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has issued his annual report for 2023. This is the first annual report to cover the activities of the current Commissioner, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, who was appointed on 8 March 2023. The Commissioner presented the report to the Speaker on 5 July 2024, and the Speaker…
The official website of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life is moving from standardscommissioner.com to standardscommissioner.mt. Members of the public are therefore kindly requested to visit https://standardscommissioner.mt to access the Commissioner’s website. The site is fully functional at this location. Persons who are looking for a specific page or document may find these links…
In recent weeks the office of the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has contributed to initiatives in other countries that are aimed at improving ethical standards. In April, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Azzopardi, Commissioner for Standards, made a presentation to officials from anti-corruption agencies in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Commissioner spoke about the role…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has proposed that he should have the right to publish decisions not to investigate complaints. Currently, when the Commissioner investigates a complaint his case report on the investigation is normally published. But if the Commissioner decides that the complaint does not warrant investigation, he cannot publish his decision…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life concluded yesterday that Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bonett did not commit a breach of ethics when he requested adjacent seats for himself and his family on an Air Malta flight to London. The Standards Commissioner came to this conclusion after considering allegations that Dr Bonett benefited from favourable treatment…
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a 224-page report setting out recommendations to improve public integrity in Malta. The report is the final outcome of a two-year project entitled “Improving the Integrity and Transparency Framework in Malta”, which was being conducted by the OECD at the request of the Commissioner for…
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has issued a report on the system by which ministers and other MPs declare their assets every year. The report is one of the final outputs of a two-year project entitled “Improving the Integrity and Transparency Framework in Malta”, which was being conducted by the OECD at…
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…
The Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has stated that it would be a breach of ethics if a member of parliament failed to declare his or her income for tax purposes. The Standards Commissioner came to this conclusion after considering three complaints against former MP Dr Jason Azzopardi for not submitting his tax returns…
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 of these guidelines goes back to March 2021 when the previous Commissioner, Dr George Hyzler, referred a case involving an advertisement issued…
