Speaker's ruling violated right to silence, court rules

Three men implicated in the Enemalta oil corruption scandal had their right to silence confirmed by a civil court after filing a constitutional case when forced to testify before the Public Accounts Committee. Frank Sammut, Francis Portelli and Anthony Cassar had been summoned to give evidence about the Auditor General's report before the Public Accounts Committee. Since the plaintiffs were still facing court proceedings in relation to their alleged involvement in the oil scandal, they had informed the chairman of the Committee that they refused to appear before the parliamentary committee. The Speaker had given a ruling in 2014 whereby he stated that the plaintiffs were to testify before the Committee and that any incriminating questions were to be referred to him for final approval. The civil court, presided by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon, upheld the plaintiffs' right to silence and observed that the Speaker's ruling indeed violated this right. The ruling was said to breach the plaintiffs' right to a fair hearing and any action taken against them following their refusal to testify before the PAC would violate this fundamental right. A similar pronouncement had been made by...

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