Robert Abela appoints Cabinet committee on governance, judicial appointments a priority

The newly-appointed committee will be chaired by Justice Minister Edward Zammit Lewis and will treat the issue of judicial appointments as a priority

Prime Minister Robert Abela
Prime Minister Robert Abela

Prime Minister Robert Abela appointed a Cabinet committee on governance after meeting his ministers for the first time on Thursday.

The committee has been tasked with taking stock of proposals made by international bodies to improve governance in Malta and to provide a blueprint for their implementation, a statement released by Department of Information said.

“This Cabinet Committee will be in charge of measures that have already been implemented and others that are yet to be, based on the reports published by the Venice Commission and GRECO among others in the contest of constitutional amendments,” the statement said.

Abela has instructed the committee to put, as a priority, a new method for judicial appointments. 

The committee will be chaired by newly-appointed Justice, Equality and Governance Minister, Edward Zammit Lewis. It will be made up of Education Minister Owen Bonnici, Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri, Parliamentary Secretary for EU Funds Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and Cabinet Secretary Mario Cutajar.

“The committee should report back to the Cabinet as soon as possible so the programme be launched,” the government statement read on Thursday.

During the meeting, Abela insisted on the importance of strong, good governance in all sectors of government and public administration. He insisted on the importance of continuity with regard to the government’s programme and all implementations promised with the aim of Malta moving forward with economic and social success.

The Constitutional Court had previously rejected NGO Repubblika’s request for an interim measure to block judicial appointments until a revised system of appointments be implemented.

Later, the civil society group argued that the Prime Minister’s discretion in the appointment of members of the judiciary is a breach of the European Treaty and Charter of Fundamental Rights. It asked the European Court to rule on whether judicial appointments made in April 2019 were invalid.