Bill proposing constitutional changes to chief justice nomination clears First Reading

Parliament on Monday cleared the First Reading of a bill to introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism for the appointment of the chief justice.

The bill to amend the Constitution was tabled by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard. The Opposition agreed to vote in favour on the First Reading—which concerns the title of the bill—as a sign of goodwill since the customary three-day notice was not given. Details of the proposed changes have not yet been revealed. The discussion proper on the bill will take place at Second Reading stage.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Robert Abela, said the bill will include a number of other constitutional amendments apart from the anti-deadlock mechanism, aimed at bringing “stability, certainty and calm to the work of the country's judges.”

The development follows Opposition leader Alex Borg's declaration on Saturday that the Nationalist Party will support an anti-deadlock mechanism following the lack of progress on the new chief justice appointment.

Neither Borg nor Abela have so far indicated what shape or form the anti-deadlock mechanism will take, with Borg on Sunday criticising the prime minister for not consulting the Opposition on the proposed bill.

As things stand today, the appointment of a chief justice requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority, a safeguard that was introduced in 2020 to ensure cross-party consensus. However, failure to agree on a name has created unease and calls for a mechanism that unblocks these situations when they happen.

Any attempt to introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism in the Constitution will also require a two-thirds parliamentary majority, which means a cross-party agreement is necessary.

The appointment of a new chief justice has been fraught with twists and turns, as government and Opposition blame each other for the lack of consensus.

After the government’s first choice, Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera, was voted down by the Opposition when the government unilateraly decided to present a motion despite there not being consensus on the name, incumbent Mark Chetcuti remained in the role.

Government's second choice, understood to be Judge Miriam Hayman, was also rejected by the Opposition.

MaltaToday had revealed the Opposition had proposed Judge Lawrence Mintoff for the post, a nomination the government did not accept.

Days later, in a bombshell letter to Cabinet, Mintoff claimed the prime minister’s “real reasons” for opposing his nomination for chief justice are that he stood up to him on two occasions.