Lawyers insist new judges should not have business interests

New judges and magistrates should not have any business or commercial interests, the Chamber of Advocates insisted. 

"Business interests are absolutely incompatible with judicial positions, as they risk compromising the independence of the judiciary and give rise to speculation about alleged impartiality," Chamber president George Hyzler told a press conference.

"However, reality must also be taken into account, and the financial package and pensions of judges and magistrates must be addressed."

He was addressing the launch of a position paper, in which the Chamber proposed that new magistrates and judges must have a minimum of 15 years' legal experience, up from the current 12 for judges and seven for magistrates. He said that at least ten of these years must be spent practicing in a Maltese court.

"Increasing the age limit will allow nominees to garner more legal experience, independence of thought, financial stability and overall maturity," he said, while urging government to introduce these reforms as "urgently as possible".

The position paper proposes that judges and magistrates be selected by a permanent authority composed of the Attorney General, the Chief Justice, and three lawyers appointed by the Prime Minister, the Opposition leader and the Chamber of Advocates.

The authority will be tasked with scrutinizing every nominee, but their recommendations will remain confidential so as to safeguard the nominees' reputations. 

He insisted that the authority should not take the personal relationships of nominees into account when deciding on their eligibility. 

Malta's judicial appointment was thrown into the spotlight following the controversial magisterial nominations of Ingrid Zammit Young and Caroline Farrugia Frendo. However, Hyzler refused to comment on either case.