Former chief justice Joseph Azzopardi will lead a commission for the appointment of a new state advocate, the government said on Tuesday. 

Azzopardi will be assisted by judges Lawrence Quintano and Antonio Mizzi.

The three-person commission will be responsible for recommending a replacement for Victoria Buttigieg, who resigned from the post to become Malta's new attorney general. 

Applicants can apply for the post through a public call and will be assessed by the commission, which will then report its findings to the prime minister.

The commission can either offer an opinion on the candidates or else rank them in order of preference, with the prime minister then referring a preferred candidate to the president, to be appointed. 

Buttigieg was the first person to serve as state advocate. The post was created in late 2019 following a legal reform to split the attorney general's functions in two, as recommended by the Council of Europe's Venice Commission.  

The state advocate is responsible for advising and representing the government in legal matters related to constitutional, civil and administrative law. 

The appointment commission which judge Azzopardi will lead was set up by Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis.