Three NGOs raise concerns about government’s rush to amend Chief Justice nomination mechanism

Following rare cross-party agreement about the need for an anti-deadlock mechanism that would prevent a stalemate over the contested nomination for Chief Justice, three NGOs have expressed concern about the government’s rush to push through such a legal amendment later today in Parliament.

In a brief statement published on Monday, aditus Foundation, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, and Repubblika urged both the Prime Minister and the Opposition Leader to “engage in a mature discussion and reach consensus on the appointment of the Chief Justice”.

“This prolonged stalemate disrupts the smooth working of our already overburdened courts and weakens public trust in the justice system,” the NGOs argued.

“We strongly caution against any rushed amendments that could weaken the independence of the important role of the Chief Justice, and as a result, of the working of the courts. It is recalled that as far back as 2020, the Venice Commission strongly recommended that the appointment to such a role should be carried out by a peer appointment system through a call for vacancies and approval by the Judicial Appointments Committee,” the NGOs added.

Despite the longstanding existence of these recommendations, neither the Prime Minister nor the Opposition Leader has yet elaborated on how to resolve an impasse that has effectively stalled the process of appointing the Head of Malta’s judiciary.

It remains to be seen whether the government and the Opposition can agree on a Constitutional amendment that would form the legal basis for any new mechanisms, especially when the drive to circumvent the two-thirds majority required for the next Chief Justice to be appointed also requires a two-thirds majority vote to pass.

After last week’s showdown between Judge Lawrence Mintoff and Prime Minister Robert Abela, in which the former accused the latter of interfering with the judiciary’s work and threatening a court employee to increase his personal compensation from a case he had taken on as a criminal lawyer, Malta’s none the wiser about who the next Chief Justice will be.

While the government has already named two sitting Judges as its preferred nominees – Consuelo Scerri Herrera and Miriam Hayman – the Opposition voted against Scerri Herrera’s appointment and is yet to publicly express its position about Hayman.

While Opposition Leader Alex Borg previously expressed reservations about the introduction of an anti-deadlock mechanism, he later expressed support for “a form of anti-deadlock mechanism”, without specifying any details.

The NGOs countered: “We respectfully but firmly call for an effective and wide public consultation on any draft Bill amending the appointment procedures of the Chief Justice, before such is tabled in Parliament. Furthermore, we urge that the government seek the opinion of the Venice Commission on the text of any proposed Bill before such becomes law, in the interests of strengthening the independence of this crucial constitutional role.”