MPs Not Bound By Duty Of Honesty, Finds Standards Commissioner

A decision by the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life has found that Members of Parliament are not explicitly required to tell the truth under the current code of ethics.

The case was examined by Standards Commissioner Joe Azzopardi, who decided to discontinue an investigation into Opposition MP Claudette Buttigieg over claims she made about a proposed thermal treatment facility at Magħtab.

The complaint had been filed by WasteServ chief executive Richard Bilocca, who accused Buttigieg of spreading misleading information about the project’s impact on air quality and surrounding communities.

In a decision published this week, Azzopardi concluded that Buttigieg had given a “false picture” of what an environmental impact assessment actually stated.

He found that her remarks at a public protest in May suggested that all areas within a six kilometre radius, including Valletta, would be adversely affected by the project.

According to the commissioner, the study instead concluded that emissions would remain within regulatory limits and that the impact on air quality would be minimal.

Despite this finding, Azzopardi said Buttigieg’s conduct did not amount to a breach of the ethical rules governing MPs. He ruled out examining statements made in Parliament, explaining that MPs’ conduct in the House falls under the authority of the Speaker.

With regard to the protest remarks, he noted that the code of ethics for MPs does not include a specific obligation of honesty, unlike the code that applies to ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

“For reasons that are difficult to explain,” Azzopardi wrote, the duty of honesty “was not included in the code of ethics for members of Parliament”. He added that treating untrue statements as an automatic breach would effectively amount to rewriting the code.

Following the decision, the Labour Party issued a statement accusing the Nationalist Party of basing its positions on “populism and deception”. It said PN MPs oppose environmental reforms while “sowing fear through persistent lies”.

Environment Minister Miriam Dalli also commented on the ruling, saying she had “continuously experienced an opposing Opposition whenever it comes to environmental reforms”.

She argued that while everyone has the right to express an opinion, parliamentarians who “fabricate lies to make political arguments” should be held politically responsible, even if the code of ethics does not formally sanction them.

#MaltaDaily