The lack of true democracy in Gibraltar will be exemplified if our Parliament, dominated by the GSLP—Liberal executive Government, debates and passes the Inquiries Bill 2004 [Bill] unamended to disapply it to the McGrail Inquiry in its entirety. The question of Governor’s assent to it also raises interesting constitutional issues, as argued in yesterday’s blog.
If passed as currently drafted, it will apply to the McGrail Inquiry which has been running for two years under the present less intrusive law that does not permit the government to interfere as the proposed new law will allow if passed unchanged in every aspect.
In the time the McGrail Inquiry has been running, decisions have been made to allow public access and scrutiny of certain evidence. Those decisions could be reversed by the government exercising powers seized to itself in the proposed new law as the Bill is currently drafted.
PUBLICITY HINDERED?
We shall see if the freedom to have made those decisions will be reversed by the GSLP-Liberal Government, who are directly affected once the law changes abrogating more power to curtail publicity unto themselves.
If that is to be so the limited ‘democracy’ that exists in Gibraltar will have been used by the GSLP-Liberals to protect itself after the start of an ongoing event, namely the McGrail Inquiry. The lack of backbenchers in Parliament to defeat the government, or to change a law as it passes through Parliament will be seen clearly.
SELF-SERVING LAW
In the context of the ongoing McGrail Inquiry, the proposed new law, if used within that Inquiry, as it can be, is solely to the self-serving exclusive benefit of the GSLP-Liberals. It will allow them (subject to the constitutional powers of the Governor, as argued in yesterday’s blog) the ability to keep evidence that is ‘uncomfortable’ for them secret.
Decisions made with that objective would directly contradict any free, just, and fair decisions taken already by the Commissioner of the McGrail Inquiry on matters connected with public access to evidence and material before the Commissioner. The political consequences of that will hopefully be seen and understood by the voting public.
DEMOCRATISATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
We wait patiently on events as they pan out in Parliament. If the new law as set out in the Bill is passed into law unchanged, there will be direct proof of the undemocratic nature of our ‘parliament’. The use of quotation marks and a lower case ‘p’ is on purpose.
The writer of this blog has never believed that Gibraltar’s Constitution or Parliament is democratic. It contains no separation of powers between the legislature and the executive. The writer has never needed proof, but those who have sat on the fence may now get the proof that will convince them of the ‘democratic’ inadequacy of the 2006 Constitution.
INTERESTING TIMES…
Events as they unfold will also reveal to what extent the UK engages with its constitutional powers and duties. Will the UK assent to a law that can be used by the locally elected government to tread on matters that are constitutionally in the exclusive realm of the UK?
It is a subject that is analysed in the blog published yesterday. The Chinese saying “may you live in interesting times” comes to mind. The sadness will be if those “interesting times” prove that openness and freedom of speech and action, essences of democracy, are missing in Gibraltar.
Llanito World 