Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech has not given up on her consistent attacks on the prosecutor, but Donatella Frenco Dimech who is subject to serious accusations of improper behaviour, is not the only magistrate who is putting a stain on the judiciary’s reputation. Another rambunctious magistrate is Joe Mifsud who, apart from also bullying a prosecutor (he apologised for it), has a habit of intertwining misogyny with his court proceedings. Together, these magistrates are significantly decreasing the judicial standards and gravitas the judiciary is expected to uphold.
There is also another bizarre case which is an incredible embarrassment to the judiciary and that is the case of Magistrate Nadine Lia. Nadine Lia is undergoing criminal court proceedings against her over a domestic case with her husband where both of them accuse each other of domestic abuse. She has also previously declined to recuse herself over the Pilatus Bank case brought in court by the NGO Repubblika. What is also interesting about Nadine Lia is that despite her ongoing case in court she was allowed to continue her duties. This is indeed bizarre considering the judiciary is expected to be without any stain of wrongdoing without any shadow of a doubt.
Nadine Lia may actually win her case, but that is not the point. The standards for the judiciary should be the highest among all public servants. What is also of significance is that these standards were applied more vigorously over the deceased prosecutor Karl Muscat. Karl Muscat was one of Malta’s best prosecutors and was handling various top-profile cases including a case against Christian Borg on allegations of kidnapping and violence. Before Karl Muscat was found dead in his home and intoxicated, he was suspended from work for a case he had against him that was very similar to Nadine Lia’s.
Karl Muscat had plenty of bad enemies and there were many criminals and criminal lawyers who had an interest in seeing him out of his job. Standards were applied to him in the most vigorous manner possible. On the other hand, Donatella Frendo Dimech, Joe Mifsud, and Nadine Lia are all immune to the standards whip, apparently. Is this the fault of the Chief Judge who has lost control over standards in the judiciary? Maybe, so but there is also a very important common denominator to all these rambunctious magistrates who are tainting the reputation of the judiciary: they have all been awarded their positions by Joseph Muscat out of political favouritism and not because they were competent for the job.
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