https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/16385 Mon, 13 Apr 2026 07:05:11 GMT 2026-04-13T07:05:11Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141547 Title: Tackling impunity - lessons from the public inquiry into the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia Abstract: A free press is the lifeblood of democracy. Journalists hold those in power to account, reporting on their actions and investigating wrongdoing. Their scrutiny extends to all areas of public interest, including matters of politics, business and crime, and the possible links between them. Investigative journalists play a particularly important role in this. By focusing on specific issues over an extended period of time, they can uncover corruption that would otherwise have gone undetected and unreported. Their reports are hugely powerful and have the potential to lead to changes in government and the prosecution of politicians and businessmen. Nobel Prize winner, Joseph Stiglitz, has referred to investigative journalism as “absolutely essential”. Without the media, including investigative journalists, ordinary citizens would not be able to make informed decisions, and democracy would fail. [excerpt] Description: This work is provided under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-CommercialShareAlike 3.0 licence. You are free to copy, distribute and display this work and to make derivative works, provided you: 1) give credit to The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and ARTICLE 19 Europe; 2) do not use this work for commercial purposes; 3) distribute any works derived from this publication under a licence identical to this one. To access the full legal text of this licence, please visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode Sat, 01 Jan 2022 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141547 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141322 Title: Malta’s golden visas - what problem are they solving and who benefits? Abstract: Being a resident in the European Union, even without holding an EU passport, brings a number of privileges: no-questions-asked travel in the Schengen zone, family reunification, education and vocational training opportunities, and easier access to business and financial services. For many non-EU nationals hoping to reside in the EU, this means piles of paperwork and intrusive questioning by various immigration gatekeepers. For the more affluent ones, residence rights can be bought off the shelf and arranged by one-stop-shop type well-connected service providers. Authorities of the European Union, notably the European Commission, increasingly criticise and even try to prevent EU passport sales. In contrast, the sale of residency visas, also known as golden visas, receives far less attention. In Malta, which runs one of the cheaper golden visa schemes in Europe, the rules around golden visa access are benefitting a range of local actors – notably law and tax service firms, as well as real estate developers – with very limited trickle-down effect to the broader community in terms of income. According to a report presented by then Citizenship Parliamentary Secretary Alex Muscat, over three years, Malta’s residency visa programme generated fewer than 150 jobs in the country – where the unemployment rate is already low. However, from the number of visa applications we know that it created a demand for thousands of residential units, since buying or renting a property is a requirement for the golden visa. In contrast to other Southern European countries, where similar schemes were initiated to prop up their crashing real estate markets during economic downturns, the Maltese real estate sector was already overheating at the time when the golden visa was launched, and it is increasingly unaffordable for the residents. The minimum threshold for the golden visa is in the range of the largest rental segment in Malta, and our data shows that very few visa buyers went for more than the minimum. This report, written by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and supported by Transparency International, looks at the national and local impact of the golden visa programme (the Malta Residence and Visa Programme, MRVP, and its successor, the Malta Permanent Residence Programme, or MPRP), focusing on the actors that benefitted the most. From active ruling party political candidates serving in the responsible agency’s board to Chinese companies enjoying privileged access to Malta’s government, from offshore structures to landlords finding ways to extract profit both from golden visa buyers and from the booming tourism economy, the golden visa scheme has solidified the power of already highly influential actors. Documentation seen by the Foundation shows that former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat was engaged as a consultant to one company that provides both financial investment and real estate services to visa buyers. Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141322 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141320 Title: Victims of Malta's construction boom : the fatal wait for accountability Abstract: The Public Interest Litigation Network (PILN) is a project of The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation. It is Malta's first non-governmental access-to-justice initiative. The PILN is a network of lawyers who offer their legal services to victims of human rights violations, abuse of power and take on other cases in the interest of the public to ensure State and individual accountability. The network serves the public interest by spotlighting the advantages of a system based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, rather than on patronage, clientelism, and abuse of public office. Sun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141320 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141041 Title: Justice at risk : the impact of delayed legal proceedings in wilful homicide cases in Malta Abstract: Delays in court proceedings in Malta are no secret. In fact, Malta has been ranked among the worst-performing EU member states when it comes to the length of judicial proceedings. Malta is bound by the European Convention of Human Rights of the Council of Europe, and its Constitution, to ensure fair hearings within a reasonable time. However, Malta has been found to be in breach of this important obligation several times. This report provides an analysis of the significant delays in justice within the Maltese judicial system, by gathering data specifically on homicide cases that occurred between 2010 and 2024 (inclusive), and the related legal proceedings. The findings show a clear picture of the causes of the systemic failures to deliver timely justice, which undermine the rule of law and the rights of victims and their families. The report also identifies other obstacles to making the Maltese judicial system victim-centred. [extract] Wed, 01 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/141041 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z