Alex Borg: Anti-deadlock must not give government 'absolute power'

The government on Monday moved the first reading of a constitutional amendment to introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism to appoint a chief justice, but no details were given on how it would work.

Opposition leader Alex Borg said his party did not know what the government was proposing, even though the new bill, like the appointment of the chief justice itself, needs a two-thirds majority in the House to become law. 

Both the government and the opposition have proposed various judges to succeed the incumbent, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, but no agreement has been reached.

Prime Minister Robert Abela told reporters outside parliament on Monday that the government was open to talks with the Opposition on the mechanism, and he therefore did not wish to discuss what shape it could take.

Borg said he looked forward to talks with the government and insisted there could be no imposition or pique.

Asked what form the anti-deadlock mechanism could take, he conceded that the government should not be given "absolute power".

The appointment of the chief justice should be such that it was above political partisanship, safeguarded the independence of the judiciary, and allowed oversight, he said.

Several NGOs and the Momentum political party have called for the appointment of the chief justice to be made by the judiciary.  

Abela announced he would be tabling the bill last Saturday, soon after the PN leader called for such a mechanism.   

The government has previously introduced an anti-deadlock mechanism to select a standards commissioner for parliament. In that case, the mechanism allows a nominee to be elected with a simple majority if no two-thirds majority can be reached following two votes.

Crucially, however, in that case the mechanism was passed with just a simple majority of votes. A similar mechanism for the nomination of chief justice will require a two-thirds majority, as the chief justice role is a constitutional one.