Malta Action Plan Review 2023-2025

Malta’s fourth action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... addresses the justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... sector and youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... participation. The adoption of the action plan revitalized Malta’s OGP process after prolonged inactivity, though the commitments came from government institutions with limited input from civil society. The Ministry of Justice should maintain civil society engagement in the implementation of the commitments, with a view toward continued cooperation in future action plans.

Malta’s fourth action plan (2023-2025) contains four commitments. CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... 1 aims to create a forum for government and civil society to discuss justice-related initiatives. Commitment 2 plans to improve access to services for victims of crime, through an awareness campaign and an online toolkit. Commitment 3 will develop an action plan to ensure information about justice and human rightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T... is provided in an accessible and child-friendly format. Lastly, Commitment 4 aims to develop a “youth proofing” legislative framework which evaluates how proposed legislations and policies may affect young people.

After acting contrary to OGP process for three consecutive action plan cycles, the OGP Steering Committee designated Malta as inactive. In April 2023, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) prepared a timeline for delivering a new action plan by 31 December 2023, the deadline given to Malta by the OGP Steering Committee to avoid being withdrawn from OGP.[1] The MoJ identified five thematic areas through internal consultations with government institutions.[2] The MoJ launched a multi-stakeholder forum (MSF) where civil society organizations (CSOs) discussed the thematic areas on 30 November 2023. The MoJ shared the draft commitments with CSOs after this meeting[3] and delivered the action plan on 27 December 2023, lifting Malta from inactivity status.[4]

The MoJ took several positive steps to restart Malta’s OGP process, such as forming an MSF and creating a dedicated OGP webpage.[5] However, civil society felt that the co-creation process did not offer sufficient time or opportunities to influence the commitments.[6] Civil society did not have an opportunity to propose their own topics for discussion at the MSF meeting of November 2023, as the discussions were based on the MoJ’s themes. According to the MoJ, to meet the deadline for delivering the action plan, the MoJ could not carry out a longer co-creation process.[7] This will require a willingness on the part of the MoJ and the government to take civil society’s priorities seriously and a willingness on the part of civil society to continue working with the government through the OGP process. For future co-creation processes, the IRM recommends involving civil society in identifying the themes for discussion in the MSF meetings.

Overall, the design of the action plan is an improvement compared to Malta’s previous OGP action plans, when the IRM assessed many commitments as not relevant to transparency, civic participation, or public accountability.[8] In addition, the commitments foresee ongoing engagement of CSOs working in relevant policy areas, namely justice and youth policies, during implementation. Commitment 1 (justice forum) has received the most interest from CSOs. The terms of reference for the justice forum will be decided during the implementation period. CSOs proposed this forum to address the implementation of Malta’s outstanding domestic and international rule-of-law recommendations. However, the MoJ responded that such recommendations went beyond the anticipated scope of the forum.[9] This has negatively impacted civil society’s interest in participating in the forum in the long term.[10]

Moving forward, the MoJ should ensure that Malta meets OGP’s Participation and Co-Creation Standards during the implementation of the action plan.[11] This will involve organizing regular MSF meetings (at least once every six months) throughout the implementation period, updating the OGP website at least twice a year with evidence for implementation of the commitments, and holding at least two meetings each year with civil society to present the results on implementation of the action plan and collect comments (i.e., through the regular MSF meetings).

[1] Resolution of the OGP Steering Committee Regarding the Participation Status of Malta in OGP, amended on 20 April 2023, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Malta_SC-dity-Resolution_20220324_Approved20230420.pdf

[2] The five themes were justice initiatives, victims’ rights, online support to victims, access to justiceAccessible justice systems – both formal and informal – ensure that individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system tha... More for minors, and youth proofing. During the MSF meeting, the themes of victims’ rights and online support to victims were merged.

[3] Open Government Malta, https://opengov.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Reasoned-Response.pdf

[4] Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Malta_Status-Letter_20240327.pdf

[5] Open Government Malta, Malta’s 4^th National Action Plan, 2024, https://opengov.gov.mt/

[6] Repubblika, interview by the IRM, 13 March 2024; Daphne Foundation, interview by the IRM, 28 February 2024.

[7] Ministry of Justice, interview by the IRM, 8 February 2024.

[8] Open Government Partnership, IRM Malta Design Report 2018-2020, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Malta_Design_Report_2018-2020.pdf; Open Government Partnership, IRM Malta End-of-Term Report 2015-2017, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Malta_End-of-Term_IRM-Report_2015-2017.pdf

[9] See Open Government Malta, https://opengov.gov.mt/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Reasoned-Response.pdf

[10] Repubblika, interview by the IRM, 13 March 2024; Daphne Foundation, interview by the IRM, 28 February 2024. Aditus Foundation, correspondence with the IRM, 7 March 2024.

[11] 2021 OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/ogp-participation-co-creation-standards/