The checks and balances on the powers and discretion of the Government of Malta : an evaluation and recent reforms

Abstract

This dissertation evaluates the checks and balances on the powers and discretion of the Government of Malta following the recent Constitutional reforms. The author has focused her research specifically on the checks and balances carried out by the Legislative and Judiciary as well as other administrative and institutional stakeholders on the Executive organ of the state (the Government). Given that it is practically impossible to evaluate every existing check on the Executive, the concentration of this study was based on a number of recommendations made by the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission in its report published in December 2018, and those recently implemented by the Government as a reaction to such report. From this study, the author found that the Prime Minister has for the first time in many years released significant powers with the intention to strengthen the separation between the powers of the state, the independence of the Judiciary and other key players from the Executive organ, to ensure the implementation of proper checks and balances, and to prevent as much as possible the concentration of powers and Government abuse. The author further identified that whilst several reforms were truly effective in this respect, others seem to be simply cosmetic. However, the concentration of powers in the hands of the Prime Minister which had been criticised for years by various scholars and authors is now being to some extent prevented. Having said that, there is still more room for improvement to prevent this concentration of powers and effectively create more checks and balances on the powers and discretion of the Government. Therefore, the author presented a number of recommendations with a view to mitigate the remaining shortcomings. However, in spite of these shortcomings, these reforms were certainly a positive step in the right direction to strengthen the checks on the Government of Malta.