PN proposes Judge Wenzu Mintoff for chief justice role

Updated 4.43pm

The Nationalist Party has proposed Judge Lawrence (Wenzu) Mintoff for the post of Chief Justice.

Sources within the PN confirmed with Times of Malta that the PN has put forward Mintoff’s name, 24 hours after the government proposed Madam Justice Miriam Hayman for the post.

Hayman’s name was put forward during a recent meeting between Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and his PN counterpart Joe Giglio.

The government’s last proposed nominee, Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera, failed to obtained the required two-thirds majority in parliament to be appointed as Chief Justice.

Earlier this month, the President of Malta urged the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to reach an agreement in parliament on the appointment, making it clear she will not be involved in discussions.

After being individually called to San Anton Palace, Robert Abela and Alex Borg agreed to continue talks.

A former MP and Labour Party official, Wenzu Mintoff was sworn in as judge in July 2014. During his time as a politician, Mintoff briefly broke ranks and set up Alternattiva Demokratika, before rejoining the Labour Party.

He was the editor of the PL’s weekly KullĦadd newspaper.

In his inaugural sitting as judge, Mintoff addressed his chequered political career admitting “there were times, in my previous field, when I swam against the current … when I felt that I could not but follow my conscience regardless of the consequences. For this I paid a high price, one I do not regret paying.”

It is understood that Mintoff's name was among a list of four the PN had proposed earlier this month, leading with Madam Justice Edwina Grima and including judges Anthony Ellul and Francesco Depasquale.

PN Leader Alex Borg has repeatedly insisted that the chief justice appointment process should be handled confidentially and had criticised the Prime Minister for breaching a "gentlemen's agreement" not to make any names public before an agreement is reached.