Two-thirds majority for AG and Police Commissioner will not work, Chamber of Advocates president warns

The president of the Chamber of Advocates, George Hyzler, has joined the list of individuals who believe that a two-thirds majority system for appointing the attorney general and the police commissioner would not work.

Interviewed on Indepth, Hyzler said that ideally, the attorney general and police commissioner should be chosen after rigorous screening and serious consultation. “The police commissioner and the attorney general are ultimately the result of political responsibility,” he said when interviewed by head of news Rachel Attard.

Hyzler is not the first to say that what the Civil Society Network is suggesting does not make much sense. Nationalist Party leader Adrian Delia supports CSN’s calls and insists that a two-thirds majority is key to safeguarding national interest. But the idea was lambasted by former Judge Giovanni Bonello, the dean of the law faculty at the University of Malta, Kevin Aquilina, and by former Prime Minister and MEP Alfred Sant. The latter recently told this newsroom that such a decision would bring the country to a stalemate.

Hyzler believes that the call for Attorney General Peter Grech’s resignation is misguided. He argues that the attorney general does not carry an investigative role. “The role of investigating lies with the police. One should be very careful before placing this responsibility on the attorney general, because investigation has to start with the police.”

“Any call for resignation is slightly misplaced and unfair on him. Whoever is making this argument is basing his thoughts on morality, not law. He (the attorney general) has found himself in the middle of this situation. We have to understand that it is very awkward, even for the attorney general, to be chairing the FIAU. But, as I said, it would be far-fetched to call for his resignation.”

Hyzler said that the police should have acted on the serious allegations and not waited for individuals to call for an inquiry by the courts. “Why did we have to wait for the Prime Minister or the Opposition to have an inquiry launched? Weren’t the police already sitting on a lot of information?”

The full interview can be watched on The Malta Independent online.