Chief justice about to retire, but no talks yet on his replacement
Five names are being talked about, but Labour and PN have yet to discuss the role
Talks to appoint a new chief justice are yet to begin, despite only a five weeks remaining before the man who holds the post is due to retire.
Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti will turn 68 on February 4. Under the constitution, judges and magistrates must retire when they reach that age.
If the government and opposition fail to agree on a name to replace the chief justice by his birthday, a constitutional provision allows the outgoing Chetcuti to stay on until they do.
Sources from both the government and the opposition confirmed that talks on finding Chetcuti’s replacement have still not started.
“We’ve heard nothing so far,” a senior Nationalist Party source told Times of Malta.
Despite Chetcuti getting unanimous approval from Parliament in 2020, the outgoing chief justice did not need it, and could have been appointed via simple majority.
This time around, however, Malta’s next chief justice will need to have the backing of two-thirds of the House, under new legal provisions.
The chief justice is the head of Malta’s judiciary. Besides hearing some cases himself, he decides which members of the judiciary hear which sort of cases.
“That is so important, because which judge or magistrate hears what can have a huge impact on how the court functions,” one senior lawyer told Times of Malta.
During a courtesy visit to the Labour headquarters last September from newly minted PN leader Alex Borg, Prime Minister Robert Abela said he was optimistic about finding common ground with Borg, including on the appointment of the chief justice.
Which judge or magistrate hears what can have a huge impact on how the court functions
Abela recalled that he had no problem finding common ground on Chetcuti with one of Borg’s predecessors, Adrian Delia.
Following that meeting, Borg said that the opposition should always be consulted on appointing people to important constitutional roles.
“We will soon have to make the decision on the chief justice,” Borg said.
Five names being touted
Despite formal talks about the new chief justice yet to take place, in the corridors of court and government, five names are mainly being mentioned as contenders for the post.
Four senior court lawyers that Times of Malta reached out to mentioned Judges Edwina Grima, Consuelo Scerri Herrera, Henri Mizzi, Laurence Mintoff and Robert Mangion as possible candidates to take over from Chetcuti.
Senior government sources confirmed that those names have all been mentioned as possible contenders. This does not rule out others emerging shortly.
One lawyer pointed to Grima’s experience on the bench since she was appointed in 2014.
“She is able to take on hard cases and when she does, she shows herself to be of strong character,” another pointed out.
On Scerri Herrera, one courtroom veteran described the judge as “extremely knowledgeable,” while another said, “she is extremely organised”.
However, two lawyers also pointed to her “baggage”, including her brother, José, being an ex-minister and possible political candidate, and her legal spats with Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Scerri Herrera was also censured by the Commission for the Administration of Justice for breaching the judiciary’s code of ethics, over her conduct in her private life around 10 years ago.
Mizzi was made a judge only in 2023. He was a commercial lawyer before then. Despite being a newcomer, some have praised his efforts to make his courtroom more efficient by “cutting red tape and formalities” and “using more electronic equipment”.
Others, however, said that his “introducing of new rules” has ruffled lawyerly feathers in court.
Grima, Scerri Herrera and Mizzi are in their late 50s or turned 60 (Mizzi) this year. That would mean a longer period as head of the judiciary than either Mintoff or Mangion.
“If Parliament wants someone to remain there for only a few years, Mintoff and Mangion are both close to retirement age,” a senior lawyer said.
While Mangion was mentioned only by one, Mintoff was mentioned by all the lawyers Times of Malta spoke to – as a competent, efficient judge who “enjoys everyone’s respect”.