Malta’s judiciary is to grow by four, with two new judges and two new magistrates to be appointed to the bench in the coming weeks. 

The Justice Ministry announced the decision in a statement issued on Monday afternoon. 

Nominations for the posts would be opened in the coming days, it said.

A reformed selection system introduced some years back means applicants must apply following a public call, with candidates then vetted by a judicial appointments committee that forms part of the Commission for the Administration of Justice. 

The committee then passes on its recommendations to the President, who is responsible for making judicial appointments. 

“We are committed to providing all the tools necessary to ensure justice is done and is seen to be done, in reasonable timeframes,” Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said in the statement.  

The ministry statement came just hours after Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti hammered home, during a speech marking the start of the new forensic year, the need for more judges and magistrates to keep up with growing caseloads. 

Malta’s judiciary is currently made up of 25 judges and 23 magistrates, and chief justices have repeatedly called for those numbers to swell in line with burgeoning caseloads. 

Image: Eurostat

According to EU statistics, Malta has among the lowest ratios of professional judges per capita across all member states. The annual EU Justice Scoreboard also indicates that the country has significant problems in handling cases within reasonable timeframes – a problem it has struggled with – and failed to resolve – in well over a decade.