The selection process for a candidate for the post of Judge of the General Court of the EU is ongoing, the government told the Court of Justice of the EU on Tuesday.
Justice Minister Jonathan Attard told the court in a letter that interviews for candidates were planned for the coming weeks.
Attard's letter follows a separate letter by Repubblika president Vicki Cremona who on Monday called on the court to turn down the nomination of former justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis to the post of judge.
Earlier this month, Times of Malta revealed that, according to sources, Prime Minister Robert Abela planned on nominating Zammit Lewis to the post.
Zammit Lewis, who served as Malta’s justice minister for two years, now serves as a backbench MP and chairs parliament’s Foreign and European Affairs Committee.
His possible nomination has been slammed because of his reported friendship with business magnate Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Malta's candidate would replace Judge Ramona Frendo, who has moved to the EU’s higher court, the European Court of Justice, following the retirement of Judge Peter Xuereb.
Nominees to the EU’s General Court must be approved by a panel of experts before they can serve on the court. Judges serve six-year terms.
In the letter Attard sent to the Registrar of the Court of Justice of the EU, he said the selection process had been made public at the end of April through a notice in the Government Gazette.
"It is regrettable that whilst the letter purports to defend the rule of law, yet its thinly veiled purpose emerges clearly as being that of conducting a personal attack intended to undermine a possible Maltese candidacy for the post of Judge of the General Court.
"I will not enter into the merits of the content of the letter at this state, but I will merely restrict myself to registering my objection to this misguided and convoluted letter being considered as objective information from an independent source," Attard said.
The minister urges the panels that will ultimately decide on Malta's candidate, to treat all candidates - "whether the person mentioned in the letter" or any others - fairly.
It also asks the court to keep it updated on any decisions it takes about Repubblika's letter.