Malta | The Global State of Democracy (original) (raw)
April 2025
New law restricts citizens’ ability to request magisterial inquiries
On 11 April, a new law that restricts citizens' ability to request magisterial inquiries was enacted. Passed by Parliament with a 37–30 vote, the legislation amends the Criminal Code, removing a provision that previously allowed individuals and civil society organizations to report suspected misconduct directly to a magistrate. Critics argue that the reform limits access to justice by eliminating this direct reporting channel. Under the new system, complaints must first be submitted to the police. If the police decide not to act, individuals may then revert to a magistrate to initiate an inquiry. Opponents argue that this process will deter whistleblowers, as complainants are now required to provide court-admissible evidence to the police, placing an undue burden of proof on them. Civil society organizations announced plans to challenge the law before the country’s Constitutional Court.
Sources: Times of Malta (1), Malta Independent, Malta Today, Times of Malta (2), International IDEA
CJEU rules ‘golden passport’ scheme illegal
On 29 April, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Malta’s ‘golden passport’ citizenship-by-investment scheme violated EU principles of solidarity and mutual trust by ‘commercializing’ citizenship. The case was referred to the Court by the European Commission in September 2022 after Malta declined to end the programme despite infringement proceedings. The scheme had faced criticism for enabling corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion, with investigations alleging involvement of high-ranking officials in facilitating passport sales for kickbacks. It also raised concerns about economic inequality, as it allowed wealthy individuals to obtain citizenship rights unavailable to other residents. The ruling requires Malta to terminate the scheme and pay the costs of the legal proceedings. It applies specifically to the country’s citizenship-by-investment (passport) programme, not to its visa policies.
Sources: Court of Justice of the European Union , Government of Malta, Times of Malta, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
February 2025
Proposed magisterial inquiry reforms advance in parliamentary readings
In February, Bill 125, a proposed reform to amend the Criminal Code advanced through parliamentary readings. The bill aims to change how private individuals report suspected wrongdoing by reforming the country’s magisterial inquiry system. Currently, individuals can report suspected misconduct directly to a magistrate, who then decides whether to initiate an inquiry. Although reportedly only 0.3 per cent of magisterial inquiries come from private individuals, the system has been crucial in the investigation of high-profile corruption cases involving public officials. The proposed reform would remove the ability of individuals to resort to magistrates directly. Instead, they would need to first file a police report and provide court-admissible evidence before an inquiry could be launched. If the police fail to act within six months, the individual could then petition for an inquiry. Critics argue that the introduction of this new admissible evidence standard would place an undue burden and make it more difficult for individuals to hold public officials accountable, particularly in complex cases of corruption. On 16 February, over 3,000 protesters gathered in Valletta, urging the government to pause the bill and seek public consultation.
Sources: Parliament of Malta, Malta Today, Malta Independent (1), Malta Independent (2), Aditus, Times of Malta, Amphora Media
June 2023
Reforms allow abortion in case mother’s life is at stake
Parliament voted to slightly ease the ban on abortion so that abortions can be performed in cases where the mother’s life is at stake. According to the bill, proposed by the ruling Labour Party, the decision to terminate a pregnancy is now possible with the sign-off of three doctors, except in the most urgent cases. The opposition supported the bill only after last minute changes which weakened the ambition from allowing abortion in cases of risks to the mother’s health to only cover cases of risks to life. Abortion rights campaigners have condemned the amendments as “unworkable,” which they say fall short of protecting women’s reproductive rights in practice, as performing an abortion in all other cases remains a criminal offense.
Sources: The Guardian (1), The Guardian (2), Amnesty International, Euronews, Malta Independent, Doctors for Choice Malta
March 2023
Case highlights impartiality in state broadcasting
Malta’s Broadcasting Authority (BA) has upheld an impartiality complaint filed against ONE, a media outlet owned by the ruling Labour party, in a significant case in the regulation of party-owned news stations. The Broadcasting Authority ruled against ONE’s decision not to report on ADPD – The Green Party’s press conference about a recent hospital privatisation scandal, and concluded that ONE had been “systematically failing to broadcast ADPD statements in the past months”. It is the first time that BA has found that a station owned by a political party committed a violation by not reporting another party’s perspective. ADPD – The Green Party called on BA to issue directives that would ensure improved media impartiality. The case follows a recent Constitutional Court ruling upholding a judge’s finding in July 2022 that the national broadcaster PBS had failed to treat the National Party impartially by hindering the impact of a political advertisement.
Sources: Times of Malta (1), Times of Malta (2), Times of Malta (3), Malta Independent, ADPD – The Green Party
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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2024
Basic Information
Population
552 747
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Robert Abela (since 2020)
Head of government party
Labour Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Single Transferable Vote
Women in lower or single chamber
29.1%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2022
Effective number of political parties
2.09
Head of state
President Myriam Spiteri Debono
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
31/01/2024
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
78.02%
Human Rights Treaties
State party
Signatory
No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Performance by category over the last 6 months
Representation
Rights
Rule of law
Participation
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time
Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time