Partial victory for Simon Busuttil as Panama Appeals saga continues

A judge presiding over the constitutional case linked to the Panama Appeals saga on Tuesday handed a partial victory to former Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil by upholding arguments that several documents, deemed as ‘beyond essential’ are to be admitted as evidence. The issue constituted the crux of a decision delivered by Mr Justice Joseph Zammit McKeon in the constitutional case filed by Dr Simon Busuttil, claiming that Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi’s decision to continue to preside over the Panama appeals would render him a “victim” by violating his right to a fair hearing. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri and Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi, together with businessmen Brian Tonna, Karl Cini, Malcolm Scerri and Adrian Hillman, had each filed separate appeals from a magisterial decision giving the go ahead for an inquiry in their regard. The appeals were assigned to Mr Justice Antonio Mizzi, prompting a challenge by the former leader of the Opposition on the grounds that the judge’s wife, Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi, had expressed her views on the Panama Papers scandal. Following the judge’s refusal to accept the challenge, Dr Busuttil had filed a separate...