Malta’s new EU judge handpicked without fresh call for applications

The government selected Malta’s newly appointed judge at the EU General Court without a fresh call for applications, sources at the Justice Ministry told The Shift.

The sources said that Andria Buhagiar, until now Deputy State Advocate, was not among the applicants in the original selection process, and she was nominated directly after three previous candidates embarrassingly failed to secure the EU expert panel’s approval.

Buhagiar passed the panel’s assessment and is now to be appointed to the court in Luxembourg.

Sources close to the ECJ described Buhagiar as competent and well-versed in EU law. Still, questions about how she was selected are raising eyebrows.

The Shift asked the Justice Ministry, headed by Clifton Grima, whether it had issued a call for the post and, if so, when. It also asked whether Buhagiar had applied and, if she had not, how the government chose her. No answers were received.

An open call has ordinarily formed part of the process for identifying Malta’s nominees since the country joined the EU in 2004.

It is not known why the government opted for a direct nomination, departing from an open process. The ministry has not explained whether it considered other potential candidates before putting her name forward.

Buhagiar replaces Ramona Frendo, who moved from the General Court to the Court of Justice of the EU. Malta’s seat at the General Court had been vacant for almost two years as the government struggled to find a nominee acceptable to the EU panel, amid criticism of partisan nominations.

Former justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis and lawyer Veronique Dalli were among those rejected. David Ciliberti was also subsequently turned down.

Last year, Dalli, the sister of minister Miriam Dalli, had failed the panel’s assessment.

The repeated rejections prolonged the vacancy and raised questions about the government’s approach to choosing candidates for EU judicial office.

The issue is likely to arise again soon.

Malta is expected to nominate an advocate general for the first time next year. The Shift is informed that no selection process has yet begun and no call for applications has been issued.

It remains unclear whether the government intends to invite applications for that post or how it plans to choose its nominee.