Cabinet approves nomination of two new Judges, one Magistrate

The nominations, which were announced today came after the retirement of Judge Joseph Galea Debono after reaching the age of 65 in the past few weeks and the election of Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on 22 June 2010.

So far, the Government has not taken a decision on the key post of Chief Justice following the election of Degaetano to the ECHR, and expectation for the much-awaited nomination in legal circles mounted.

The new Maltese judge in the ECHR has three months from his election date to take up his place, however the Government was likely to resolve the dilemma sooner rather than later.

Judge Quintano was born in Birkirkara on 29 July 1949, and will be turning 61 on Thursday. He graduated as a lawyer from the University of Malta in 1983. He was appointed Magistrate on 14 February 2003, and had been serving for the past seven years on drugs cases up to a maximum of 10 years in jail, and other criminal cases.

Prior to this, between 1979 and 2002, he had practiced as a lawyer with the Attorney-General’s Office in Valletta.

Judge Mark Chetcuti was born on 4 February 1958, and is 52 years old. He graduated as a lawyer from the University of Malta in January 1982. He has been practicing a lawyer for the past 28 years, where he specialised in Family Law and Civil Law. He was also a member of the group of arbiters in the Maltese Centre for Arbitration regarding civil and commercial disputes as well as motor collisions.

He was also a member of the Refugees’ Appeals’ Board and a Chairman of the Controlled Companies’ Appeals’ Board.

Magistrate Marse-Ann Farrugia was born in Attard on 30 July 1971, and will turn 39 on Friday. She has been practicising as a lawyer in the Maltese courts since 1994, especially in Civil Law and Human Rights.

In 2004, she was appointed as Judicial Assistant and Legal Secretary to Chief Justice Vincent de Gaetano.

A Government statement announced that the two Judges and the new Magistrate would be taking their oath of office “in the next few days”