Toni Abela wants more remuneration for his new position

Retired judge and former Labour deputy leader Toni Abela is demanding a significantly higher financial package for his new role as Standards Commissioner for the judiciary, sparking a dispute with the Office of the President (OPR) while details of his taxpayer-funded contract remain hidden.

Sources told The Shift that Abela resisted an offer to retain the same financial package he enjoyed when working as a sitting judge, approximately €105,000 annually, and is instead insisting on an increase of around €50,000.

At the heart of the standoff is Abela’s insistence that he should receive both a full judicial-level salary and continue drawing his privileged judicial pension.

Under current rules, retired members of the judiciary are entitled to an uncapped privileged pension equivalent to two-thirds of a Judge’s salary. In Abela’s case, this amounts to roughly €56,000 annually, in addition to his National Insurance pension.

However, the Commission for the Administration of Justice, chaired by President Myriam Spiteri Debono, refused to accept his demands.

Sources said the Commission’s position is that Abela cannot receive both a full salary and a full pension at the same time. Instead, his remuneration should be adjusted to include his privileged pension, ensuring his total income remains in line with that of a sitting Judge.

Abela is understood to disagree, arguing that other former members of the judiciary holding public roles, including former Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi, now Standards Commissioner, and Ombudsman Joseph Zammit McKeon, receive both their full salary and their judicial pension.

He has also pointed to Labour Ministers, such as Minister Anton Refalo, who continue to receive his full privileged pension while in office, following legislation granting MPs an additional uncapped pension.

Contacted by The Shift, Abela refused to clarify his financial expectations, stating that he is precluded from answering such questions due to his Constitutional role.

The dispute comes as authorities continue to refuse to publish Abela’s new contract, despite Freedom of Information requests filed by The Shift.

The Office of the President, which oversees the Commission for the Administration of Justice, claimed it did not possess a copy of the contract, even though the Commission falls within its remit.

A separate request to the Justice Ministry was redirected back to the President’s office, creating a deadlock that has effectively blocked access to information about how much Abela is being paid.

Abela himself declined to publish the contract, insisting it was not his responsibility to disclose details of his remuneration or any associated perks.

Yet the law establishing the Standards Commissioner for the Judiciary makes clear that the role carries a financial package funded by taxpayers and determined by the Commission.

Budget estimates for 2026 show that the office falls under the President’s remit and has been allocated €400,000.

Abela, now 68, was appointed to the newly created post shortly after reaching the mandatory retirement age for Judges.

His appointment followed a failed attempt by the government, led by Prime Minister Robert Abela, to raise the retirement age for members of the Judiciary from 68 to 70, a move widely seen as intended to retain Toni Abela on the bench.

After the proposed reform failed to secure the required parliamentary support, the government instead created the new role of Standards Commissioner for the Judiciary, assigning it to the former Labour Deputy Leader.

Unlike similar watchdog roles, the law establishing the office does not fix the commissioner’s salary, leaving it to be determined by the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

Abela’s term runs for three years and may be renewed.

For now, however, both the final terms of his financial package and the full cost to taxpayers remain unresolved and undisclosed.