A much needed overview of Maltese administrative law
Maltese Administrative Law, by Tonio Borg, published by Kite Group, 2021
Public law scholars tend to devote most of their energy, research and production to delving into constitutional law, thus setting aside the subject of public law. very fast growing administrative law. Ivan Mifsud and Tonio Borg are two Maltese publicists who have proved to be the exception to the rule and have also stressed the importance of administrative law for the governance of the state and society.
Mifsud, dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Malta, has published two monographs in the field of administrative law – one on judicial review of administrative action, the other on ombudsman legislation.
Borg, so far (not counting his other three books on constitutional law), has published three monographs on Maltese administrative law: one on key court cases in Maltese administrative law, another on judicial review of an administrative action and, more recently, a monograph on Maltese. administrative law.
Borg’s latest monograph fills a huge gap in Maltese administrative law that has been in the spotlight since British colonial times.
Although there were a small number of books on Maltese administrative law, they tended to be extremely limited in scope. They analyzed one or a few branches of Maltese administrative law but never tried to study administrative law holistically and comprehensively.
Tonio Borg’s latest monograph fills a huge gap in Maltese administrative law that has been in the spotlight since British colonial times.
We thank God that this gap in the legal literature has been filled for the benefit of law, government and public policy students, the judiciary, the legal profession, public administrators, non-governmental organizations dealing with the public sector and others who share a strong interest in the development of public administrative law in Malta.
Regarding the content of the book, the monograph is spread over 24 chapters dealing with a plethora of topics such as the structure of the Maltese public administration, the powers of government, the administrative review tribunal, the governmental responsibility, privileges and immunities enjoyed by the government. , inquiries and tribunals, the police, the Armed Forces of Malta, the Attorney General, the State Attorney, the local government, the ombudsman, the Commissioner for Standards in Public Life and, last but not least, a judicial review of an administrative action.
This is, therefore, an exceptional book in so far as (a) it is a pioneering effort to bring together in a single monograph virtually all relevant branches of Maltese administrative law, (b) it is fully updated with references to major forensic cases, and (c ) trace how these branches of administrative law manage to interact together.
For the Faculty of Law and the University of Malta, it was a hidden blessing that Borg completely gave up a political and forensic career in favor of an academic one. From the academy side lines, he now went to the center of the stage.
My message to the readers of The Sunday Times of Malta is to read and cherish this book and make the best use of it as it briefly discusses the foundations of the Maltese state. My message to Borg is to keep up the pace of taking on a full-time academic commitment to provide us with at least one book on Maltese law each year!
Kevin Aquilina is Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Malta.
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