Patrick Spiteri loses bid to recuse Chief Justice

A lawyer has lost an appeal to have the Chief Justice and a Judge recused from presiding over his case to have his marriage annulled.

Patrick Spiteri - who is facing a series of court cases for misappropriation of funds and is disbarred from practising as a a lawyer - called for the recusal of Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri and Judge Tonio Mallia from continuing to preside over his appeal to a judgment which overturned a decision by the lower courts which had granted him the annulment.

Spiteri challenged a ruling handed on 25 November, 2011 by the Court of Appeal which upheld his estranged wife's objection to having her marriage annulled on the basis that she was still married to another man, at the time when he had wedded her.

Spiteri filed another appeal over the judgment, this time calling for Chief Justice Silvio Meli and Judge Tonio Mallia to recuse themselves from continuing to hear his case, since they had already presided and handed another judgement in his same case.

The case was dismissed by the Court which said that the Chief Justice and Judge Mallia had ruled over a part and not the entirety of the annulment proceedings, and ordered for the case to continue before the Family Court.