Creation of a Justice Forum (MT0018)

Our Commitment

The commitment entails the establishment of an inclusive stakeholder consultative forum that will discuss new and ongoing initiatives, and lacunae in justice-related initiatives. Drawing on the experience of the government and civil society alike, the purpose of the forum is to be a collaborative space marked by open and constructive dialogue, with the aim of meeting international standards of justice for all stakeholders and to ultimately strengthen the rule of law in Malta. The Forum will discuss proposals for initiatives in the Justice sector brought to it by any of its participating entities. It will strive to reach consensus and in the spirit of transparency record any different views of participating entities on these proposals. Government acknowledges that civil society has an important role to play in ensuring that justice institutions are transparent and responsive to the needs of society, and through this forum, it is engaging them as key stakeholders in the democratic decision-making process. Hence the ultimate objective of the forum is to facilitate constructive interaction between government and civil society in an enabling participative environment based on the principles of inclusiveness, openness, and transparency to strengthen institutional accountability and the sustainability of public policies.

Problem Definition

What problem does the commitment aim to address?

The rise of civil society in Malta, especially in respect to matters related to justice, has been a relatively recent development in the policy-making and governance landscape. Previous ways of developing policy have to be re-thought as citizens have become more engaged and want to have a say in the process. Furthermore, public participation in the legislative making process is the essence of democracy and allows for citizens to scrutinise and contribute to the development of effective laws and policies. The establishment of such a Forum will be a step forward in meeting the need noted by various democracy ratings, and other international instruments, as regards the need to strengthen participation in a deliberative democracy, making this proposal a desirable action that responds to the need. So far, a lack of cooperation between government and civil society is giving rise to the perception that the two sectors are opposing forces, and as a result of this conflictual relationship, trust in the justice system is being eroded. Jointly pursuing the goals of ensuring the rule of law and ensuring that Justice meets international standards, will enable all parties to become partners in the development of a healthy justice system that serves the needs of the country and its citizens. To date however, there is no dedicated space in relation to justice reform in which both government and civil society can come together. In this respect, the setting up of this Forum will provide the opportunity for all government and social partners to engage proactively with each other in strengthening good governance within the field of justice. This should lead to an increase in the level of trust in the justice sector. Once the Forum embraces the principles of participative dialogue, transparency and accountability, civil society and the public at large will become an active participant in the justice reform process, thereby ensuring that the human and legal rights of citizens, including minorities, are being addressed.

What are the causes of the problem?

Lack of consultative communication lies at the heart of the issues that the Forum will seek to address. As explained previously, a major part of this problem lies with the historical way of doing policy, namely one that lies exclusively within the remit of the government and its internal stakeholders. The engagement of equally important external stakeholders in the identification of key government priorities, and subsequently in policy-formulation, is a cultural transformation that the Ministry for Justice is willing to embrace and promote in the interests of good governance. A resulting concern from lack of proper communication is the creation of a narrative that erodes trust in the justice system. Trust is an essential component of a strong rule of law culture, as it provides citizens and businesses with the assurance that the national justice system will, irrespectively, safeguard their rights. Indeed, trust is both a cause and an effect of good governance. By strengthening the participatory role of citizens in the legislative and policy-making process, trust becomes a measure by which good governance is promoted. Likewise, measures of transparency and accountability made possible by a degree of public scrutiny, will foster trust in the institutions and in justice in particular. To date, the government has not provided a forum where a constructive and participatory debate with civil society can take place. Furthermore, the Ministry for Justice recognises that external stakeholders, including NGOs, have specialised knowledge that could enhance the quality of policy and legislation. The Forum will address this lacuna and will apply good governance principles to foster a culture of trust, cooperation and sharing between all stakeholders within the justice sector.

Commitment Description

What has been done so far to solve the problem?

Government has adopted various measures to ensure citizen involvement in its policy-making efforts. One key avenue soliciting citizen participation is the increase in public consultation exercises being carried out throughout government. Public consultations are a popular participatory tool that enables organisations and citizens alike to express their opinion and provide their own feedback on policies or legislative amendments that the government is proposing. Such feedback often results in the re-shaping of public policy and is an excellent tool in formalising citizen participation. A more targeted and widespread means of stakeholder involvement used by various ministries across government, is the setting up of inter-ministerial committees that are usually made up of representatives of government entities (together with the involvement of related NGOs). Such committees are focused on specific thematic areas and they seek to foster a solution-focused constructive dialogue between government from a policy perspective and the NGOs working from a more client-based perspective. Such fora are also a very important tool to ensure accountability and are answerable not only to the Maltese public but also to international institutions who seek to safeguard the implementation of benchmarks set by European conventions. Last but not least, to ensure transparency, government has set-up the legislative and administrative structures required for a comprehensive freedom of information service. In principle, the Freedom of Information Act, (Chapter 496 of the Laws of Malta) makes it possible for Maltese citizens (including journalists, NGOs and civil society), EU citizens and third-country nationals who have resided in Malta for at least five years to request information from public authorities. In the spirit of accountability, the legal framework also provides that refusal to provide information has to be properly motivated and that citizens should have redress mechanisms to appeal such decisions. However, the EU 2023 Rule of Law Report highlighted that there is still need to improve access to official documents and has recommended that Malta adopts legislative safeguards to improve access to official documents.

Our Solution

Government will back its commitment to participative communication by ensuring a space where civil society and government entities within the justice sector become active participants and partners in the discussion of specific justice initiatives, including the passing of new laws and policies, and the need to address lacunae in the justice system. The Forum will adopt a participatory approach, upholding the principles of transparency, participatory involvement and accountability throughout its operations, and ensure that these principles are integrated in all justice-related initiatives.

The results we want to achieve by implementing this commitment

The setting up of the consultative forum will deliver the following outputs: it will create the opportunity for government and civil society to engage in a collaborative and inclusive dialogue on justice initiatives; it will provide a setting in which initiatives are discussed, ensuring a more participative approach to problem identification and the formulation of solutions through targeted actions; it will ensure that information and data relating to proposed initiatives are publicly disseminated and that the necessary structures are set up to ensure adequate timeframes for the consultative process; it will ensure that civil society will have the space to put forward for dialogue its own proposed justice initiatives and for such initiatives to be discussed in a collaborative and inclusive way; it will map out previous studies and research carried out by the stakeholders to ensure that there will be no duplication of work, it shall carry out evaluation studies to support the sustainability of implemented initiatives; it will ensure that accountability structures are set up in order to ensure that commitments undertaken within the Forum are honoured by all participants.

Our Commitment Analysis

How will the commitment promote transparency?

To foster collaborative and participatory communication, the Forum has to embrace transparency as one of its core principles. To this end, the Forum will set up its own digital environment which will act as the vehicle through which both government and civil society can share documents, propose initiatives and communicate in an open, accessible and transparent manner. This platform will not replace in-person communication or meetings between Forum members, but will support the interaction of the participants in pursuit of the achievement of the agreed agenda. This measure will ensure inclusion, while promoting transparency at different points of the implementation of justice initiatives.

How will the commitment help foster accountability?

The importance of sustaining accountability within the justice field cannot be understated. Justice is tasked with safeguarding the basic human fundamental rights of its citizens, and to this end, it is primarily accountable towards them. The Forum shall promote accountability through the following measures: establish procedures that ensure participation and transparency; the sharing, of any documents, research or any other material that will help inform public opinion on proposed justice initiatives; establish methods of post-implementation evaluation to ensure that justice intitiatives have successfully met the targeted needs which they were meant to address - this process will enable corrective actions to ensure the sustainability of justice reforms; outline the responsibilities and commitments of all participants in the Forum, thereby fostering accountability towards the shared goals by all participating members; the formalisation of accountability structures to ensure that the work of the Forum is open to scrutiny and that all participants’ work within the Forum is based on shared goals and responsibilities, and are answerable to the public for their output.

How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions?

The Forum will honour its commitment to improve the participation of civil society through the following solutions: the creation of a forum to establish a designated space in which government and civil society can proactively interact and communicate collaboratively on justice initiatives proposed by government and by civil society; provide an opportunity for all members of the Forum to voice their ideas and ensure more effective implementation; reach out and incorporate the opinion of additional stakeholders, including even citizens at large, through more targeted public consultations, joint research projects and the creation of a public portal as a digital entry point through which feedback on justice initiatives can be received. overall promote inclusivity and the ownership of solutions and outcomes to strengthen the legitimacy of justice initiatives.

Commitment Planning (Milestones | Expected Outputs | Start Date | End Date)

Establish the set-up of the Justice Forum and its proceedings | Hold discussions between all stakeholders in the Forum to establish clear Terms of Reference and Standard Operating Procedures; Reach an agreement on how the digital environment should be shaped; Agree on the consultative process and define the channels of communication that will be adopted by the Forum. | Jan - 2024 | Dec - 2024

The Justice Forum becomes fully functional | Using test cases, pilot the way the Forum will operate and evaluate the whole process in order to fine-tune the new system. | Jan - 2025 | Dec - 2025