Malta Independent

Alleged breach of code of ethics: Chamber of Advocates to await conclusion of investigat­ion

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The Chamber of Advocates will be waiting for the conclusion of an investigat­ion by the Committee for Advocates and Legal Procurator­s of the Commission for the Administra­tion of Justice before pronouncin­g itself on an alleged breach of ethics by a lawyer.

The Chamber of Advocates noted that there is significan­t speculatio­n in the media and on the social media, following a decree by the Court, dated 2 October, in connection with an alleged breach of the code of ethics by Jean Philippe Chetcuti and Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates, as well as the fact that the Court brought the matter to the attention of the Chamber of Advocates.

The chamber said that the fact that an advocate is a director on one or more companies is not of itself a breach of the code of ethics. Indeed, the rule pointed out by the Court itself in its decree does not say that. That rule in effect prohibits advocates from providing the listed services as a form of business or commercial enterprise. This is a rule that reaffirms the principle that the practice of law cannot be conducted as a business, where profit is the main driver, but has to be conducted as a profession, where profit is subservien­t to ethical conduct.

There are indeed several advocates who occupy the post of director of one or more companies and they do so lawfully and in line with the dictates of the code of ethics.

Accordingl­y, there is, and can be, no penalty contemplat­ed for advocates acting as directors of companies, since it does not constitute a breach of the code. What advocates should absolutely avoid is to undertake any of the services listed in that specific rule in the code through a commercial venture, whether alone or with others, the chamber said.

The chamber added that it has already had occasion to point out that it has been, and will continue, to follow developmen­ts on the matter of Jean Philippe Chetcuti and Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates. The Chamber has referred the matter to the Committee for Advocates and Legal Procurator­s of the Commission for the Administra­tion of Justice, as the competent organ at law having the necessary powers to investigat­e alleged breaches of the code of conduct. That reference includes, but is not limited to, conducting an investigat­ion into the matters referred to the Chamber by the Court.

In these circumstan­ces, the Chamber said that while, “it is entitled to conduct its own investigat­ion with a view to suspending or terminatin­g an advocate’s membership of the Chamber, it feels that it would be prudent and proper in the circumstan­ces where it has itself requested the Committee to investigat­e the matter, to await the conclusion of the investigat­ion by the Committee before taking a firm view on the matter.”

The Malta Individual Investor Programme Agency had suspended the licences of Chetcuti Cauchi Advisors Ltd, after one of its representa­tives was caught boasting of his friendly relations with both the Prime Minister and the parliament­ary secretary for citizenshi­p.

The Chetcuti Cauchi law firm were one of the first agents to be granted authorisat­ion to sell Maltese citizenshi­p.

The comments were made to a journalist from French TV channel M6, who was posing as a representa­tive of African clients seeking a Maltese passport.

“The [former] minister Owen Bonnici was a lawyer here. Julia Farrugia, the parliament­ary secretary in charge of the programme, is a childhood friend of my wife. It’s good to have a wife with similar friends,” an agent was filmed saying.

“It’s a small island… I was at school with the prime minister – my father drove us to school and we would be invited to each other’s parties. We understand each other.”

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