President appoints two new magistrates to the inferior courts

President Myriam Spiteri Debono has announced the appointment of Renata Farrugia and Natalino Caruana De Brincat as magistrates of the inferior courts, in a notice published on 15 June 2026.

The public call for two new magistrates was issued on 2 April 2026 by the then Minister for Justice and Construction Sector Reform, Jonathan Attard, under Article 96B(1) and Article 100 of the Constitution. Applications had to be in by 23 April 2026.

The President stated that the appointment of two Magistrates in accordance with the public call issued by the then Minister for Justice and Construction Sector Reform on 2nd April 2026 has been fulfilled and exhausted.

The Committee on Judicial Appointments, established under Article 96A of the Constitution, met on 7 May 2026 and reviewed 17 expressions of interest for the two posts. On 18 May 2026, the President was given a report, dated the same day and drawn up under Article 96A(6)(d), naming the three candidates the Committee found most suitable.

These three names were Natalino Caruana De Brincat, Renata Farrugia and Elizabeth Quintano. From them, the President chose Natalino Caruana De Brincat.

On 10 June 2026, the Secretary of the Committee gave the President a second report, with three more names found most suitable and deserving. In alphabetical order, these were Renata Farrugia, Elizabeth Quintano and John Mary Vella. From this list, the President chose Renata Farrugia.

Under Article 100(1) of the Constitution, magistrates of the inferior courts are appointed by the President acting on the recommendations of the Judicial Appointments Committee. On that basis, the President appointed Natalino Caruana De Brincat and Renata Farrugia to serve as magistrates of the inferior courts.

The President congratulated the newly appointed magistrates and thanked the members of the Judicial Appointments Committee for their work.