New judicial appointments to be announced soon

A number of new judicial appointments will be announced in the coming days, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said.

Bonnici was on Monday replying to a parliamentary question from Nationalist Party MP Jason Azzopardi, who asked when a replacement for Judge Silvio Meli, who is due to retire in April, will be appointed.

Judge Meli has since December been unable to carry out his duties due to medical reasons, having suffered a health-related episode while away from Malta, Bonnici said. It is understood that he is currently still abroad, receiving treatment in hospital.

Bonnici said that Malta’s judiciary now has more members than it did in the past, and, while it might not be specifically necessary to replace Judge Meli once he retires, the government was still committed towards increasing the number of judges and magistrates.

“I don’t believe I need to replace Judge Meli directly, but I agree that we have to increase the judiciary if we are to continue improving the rate at which cases are decided, both civil and criminal,” Bonnici said, "It is in our interest to have more members of the judiciary."

Highlighting that a judicial appointment needs to receive the fiat of the Judicial Appointments Committee, Bonnici said that new appointments in this regard will be announced in the coming days.