The notion of 'special trust' in the Maltese public sector : an assessment

Abstract

In fulfilling the role of an active player in the administration of the Maltese society and its affairs, the Government of Malta necessitates the assistance of the Public Administration which shall be staffed by individuals recruited in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Malta and other relevant local legislations. Nonetheless, recent history has dictated that successive governments in staffing the public administration were discarding the normal enrolment channels provided for by law allegedly to cater for the disputed „persons of trust‟ mechanism. The aim of this term paper is to comprehensively probe into the „persons of trust‟ mechanism and its legitimacy. Initially, a definition of the practice and a brief overview as to the structures within which the said engagements operate is propounded so as to lay the foundations of the research. From then on, the practice is examined vis-à-vis the Maltese legal framework and the identical British practice of „special advisers‟. Chapter II provides an overview of the historical evolution of the British practice and its incidental inception in the Maltese public organisation sphere. Most importantly, Chapter III then debates the legal considerations and issues pertinent to the local practice with reference to the relevant legislative framework mainly being the Constitution of Malta, the Employment and Training Services Act and the Public Administration Act. Authoritative reports conducted by the Ombudsman, the Public Service Commission and the now defunct Audit Office within the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) are also examined. Thereafter, in Chapter IV, analysis on the legislations governing the UK practice is conducted to enable comparison with the local practice. Finally, recommendations and suggestions for future research are advocated along concluding remarks.