Cabinet stunned by 'kamikaze' letter from judge over chief justice snub

Ministers have expressed shock at receiving a "kamikaze" letter from a sitting judge, detailing his anger at being passed over for Malta's next chief justice.

The email from Judge Lawrence (Wenzu) Mintoff landed in cabinet members’ inboxes on Monday morning at around 9am.

It contained a five-page letter expressing Judge Mintoff’s intense disappointment at being overlooked for the chief justice post and threatening to take the matter to parliament.

Sources familiar with the email said Mintoff listed a series of reasons explaining the nomination, with some dating back to events that occurred when he was still a Labour Party official.

They also said the letter referred to the nomination of Prime Minister Robert Abela’s father, George, to the presidency back in 2009. George Abela, a former Labour deputy leader, was nominated as Head of State by the Nationalist Party.

'Radioactive' letter

One source who spoke to Times of Malta described it as a “kamikaze” letter. Another called it “radioactive”.

“Whatever chance there was of him being nominated has now evaporated,” a minister said.

A third source said the letter was “confusing and disappointing,” adding: "I don't know what he thought this would accomplish. All it does is make him appear unsuited for such an important post.”

Another, however, said they believed the letter was written to be leaked.

“Judge Mintoff is no fool. He’s not the sort to just blow things up for no reason. I think there is a bigger motivation behind this that has yet to emerge.”

Attempts to contact Judge Mintoff for comment were unsuccessful.

Nomination snub

While the Nationalist Party has proposed Mintoff for chief justice, the government has nominated other judges – initially Consuelo Scerri Herrera and subsequently Miriam Hayman.

The government was reportedly reluctant to endorse Mintoff due to concerns about his age. All judges automatically retire when they turn 68 and Mintoff, 66, is less than two years away from that date. A government attempt to raise the judiciary's retirement age to 70 was blocked by the Opposition last year. 

Nominating a chief justice requires a two-thirds majority in parliament. The government and Opposition were scheduled to meet to discuss nominees on Monday evening. 

Potential ethics breach

Judges and magistrates are forbidden from communicating in private with members of the executive “on any matter connected with their duties or functions” unless they have the explicit permission of the chief justice, according to the judiciary's code of ethics.

However, they can only be investigated for ethics breaches at the explicit, written request of the chief justice or justice minister. 

If either official files a written complaint about Judge Mintoff's letter, the Commission for the Administration of Justice will then be empowered to investigate it. Should it conclude that the letter breached the judiciary's ethical code, the judge could be reprimanded or disciplined. 

The Commission is the constitutional body responsible for overseeing the work of judges and magistrates. It meets in secret and does not disclose details of its activities.  

Judge Mintoff, the nephew of former Labour leader Dom Mintoff, briefly served as a Labour MP in the 1980s before clashing with the party and quitting it to co-found Alternattiva Demokratika.

He subsequently reconciled with Labour, running for an MEP seat on the party ticket in 2004 and later serving as editor of its Sunday newspaper, Kullħadd before he was nominated to the bench in 2014.

Repubblika urges PM to publish letter

Rule of law group Repubblika said on Tuesday that it was shocked and concerned that a letter to ministers was sent from the personal email address of a judge in office.

It urged the prime minister to publish the letter he had received and also reiterated its calls for the chief justice to be appointed by judges without the involvement of politicians. 

A system where the nomination of the chief justice depended on negotiations between the political parties created situations which were not compatible with the separation of powers.  

There should never be a situation where political considerations and the promotion of judges overlapped. Judges should never have any involvement with the executive - or be perceived to have one. Even the appearance of such interactions undermined the people's confidence in the independence of the judiciary, and its dignity. 

The credibility of the justice system was at stake, Repubblika warned.