Search Results for: Malta

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled Tuesday that Malta’s system for appointing judges, which provides its prime minister with decisive power in the appointment of members of the judiciary, is not contrary to EU law. The ruling by the court came after Repubblika, an association whose purpose is to promote the protection of justice [...]

The former chief of staff for ex-Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Keith Schembri, was arraigned in court Saturday on charges of money-laundering, fraud and corruption. The charges were brought following a magisterial inquiry into payment of €650,000 from Schembri to the former managing director of Allied Newspapers, Ltd., Adrian Hillman, when the news company had [...]

Advocate General Gerard Hogan of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) concluded in an opinion delivered Thursday that Malta’s judicial appointment process does not contravene EU law. The preliminary ruling was part of ongoing proceedings before the Maltese courts, brought by pro-democracy and human rights group Repubblika. The group alleged that Malta’s current judicial appointment [...]

The European Commission Tuesday announced an investigation into the “golden passport” schemes of EU member states Cyprus and Malta for “selling” EU citizenship. The schemes enable investors to obtain EU citizenship by making pre-determined payments to the member states. The European Commission characterized the schemes as inconsistent with the purpose of Article 4(3) of the [...]

Cyprus announced via Twitter on Tuesday that it will abolish a citizenship-through-investment passport scheme that grants citizenship and guarantees visa-free travel throughout the EU to individuals who invest €2 million minimum. This announcement followed an investigation by news source Al Jazeera revealing that high-ranking politicians issued passports to convicted criminals. Allegedly, high-ranking Cypriot officials, politicians, [...]

The recent controversy ignited by the exploratory drills conducted off the coast of Cyprus is just the latest addition to the chain of conflicts between Greece and Turkey. The apparent reason for the spark seems to be the new-found energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, which has attracted competition in the region. However, there [...]

The Mexico City Congress has approved a bill reforming the city’s penal code to criminalize conversion therapy. The reform seeks to penalize practitioners of conversion therapy, and the relevant provision in the Code specifies “the criminalization of contracts, treatments, therapies or services, tasks or activities that pretend to correct the sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression [...]

The Mexican Episcopal Conference announced Tuesday that the Vatican has agreed to send sex abuse investigators to Mexico City at its request. The investigators, Charles Scicluna, archbishop of Malta and deputy secretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Jordi Bertomeu are scheduled to be in Mexico City from March 20 to [...]

On Tuesday, a Maltese court overturned the conviction of a Claus Peter Reisch, a German captain of a private ship who was convicted of entering Maltese waters without a permit and for having improper ship registration. The court ruled that Reisch did not have the specific criminal intent required when he entered Maltese waters and [...]

In The Hague last week at the Headquarters of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), policymakers and stakeholders discussed a coherent international approach to accounting for people who have gone missing as a result of conflict and migration, including the conflict in Syria. This is an issue that cuts both internationally and domestically across [...]