ACT No. XLIII of 2020 AN ACT to amend the Constitution of Malta relative to the appointment of judges and magistrates.

I assent.

(L.S.)

GEORGE VELLA

President

7th August, 2020

ACT No. XLIII of 2020

AN ACT to amend the Constitution of Malta relative to the

appointment of judges and magistrates.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Constitution of Malta

(Amendment) Act, 2020 and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Constitution of Malta, hereinafter referred to as "the

Constitution".

Article 96 of the Constitution shall be amended as follows

(a) sub-article (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(1) The judges of the superior courts shall be

appointed by the President acting in accordance with the

recommendation made by the Judicial Appointments

Committee established by article 96A of the Constitution.";

(b) sub-article (3) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(3) The Chief Justice shall be appointed by the

President acting in accordance with a resolution of the

House supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of

all the members of the House

Provided that notwithstanding the provisions of

article 97(1), if the Resolution is not supported by the votes

of not less than two-thirds of all the members of the House,

the person occupying the office of Chief Justice shall, in any

circumstance, remain in office until the Resolution is

supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all the

members of the House."; and

(c)

sub-article (4) thereof shall be deleted.

Article 96A of the Constitution shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 96A of

the Constitution.

(a) sub-article (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(1) There shall be a Judicial Appointments

Committee, hereinafter in this article referred to as "the

Committee", which shall be a subcommittee of the

Commission for the Administration of Justice established

by article 101A of this Constitution and which shall be

composed as follows

(a)

the Chief Justice;

(b) two (2) members elected for a period of

four (4) years by the judges of the superior court

from among themselves;

(c) one member elected for a period of four

(4) years by the magistrates of the inferior courts

from among themselves;

(d)

the Auditor General;

(e) the Commissioner for Administrative

Investigations (Ombudsman); and

(f) the

President

of

the

Chamber

of

Advocates

Provided that the President of the Chamber

of Advocates shall not be eligible to be appointed a

member of the judiciary before the expiration of a

period of two (2) years starting from the day on which

he last occupied a post on the Committee or he was

last a Committee member.";

(b)

paragraph (d) of sub-article (3) thereof shall be

substituted by the following new paragraph

"(d) Where a member of the Committee abstains or

is challenged, in the case of the Chief Justice he shall be

substituted by a judge who shall be the next most senior

judge in office, in the case of the Auditor General he shall

be substituted by the next most senior officer according to

office in the National Audit Office, in the case of the

Commissioner for Administrative Investigations he shall

be substituted by the next most senior officer according to

the Office of the Ombudsman and in the case of the

President of the Chamber of Advocates he shall be

replaced by the next most senior advocate according to

office in the committee of the Chamber of Advocates.";

(c)

sub-article (6) thereof shall be amended as follows

(i) in paragraph (b) thereof the words "to the Prime

Minister and to the Minister responsible for justice" shall be

substituted by the words "and the President of Malta";

(ii) paragraph (d) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(d) when a vacancy in the office of judge or

magistrate occurs, the Committee shall send to the

President, through the Secretary, the names of three

candidates that the Committee considers to be most

suitable along with a detailed report on the suitability

and merit of these three candidates who, in the

opinion of the Committee, are deemed to be the most

suitable for the appointment of these offices

Provided that the President shall be

entitled to elect a judge or a magistrate exclusively

from the names of the three candidates transmitted by

the Committee which names of the three candidates

shall be made public in the President’s decision;";

(iii) paragraph (e) thereof shall be deleted and

paragraph (f) thereof shall be renumbered as paragraph (e);

(iv) in paragraph (e), the words "may from time to

time request:" shall be substituted by the words "may from

time to time request;"; and

(v) immediately after paragraph (e) there shall be

added the following new paragraph

"(f)

to approach with a view of eliciting

interest amongst qualified persons for the office of

judge or magistrate:"; and

(d) sub-article (8) thereof shall be substituted with the

following

"(8) The Committee shall regulate its own

procedure and shall be obliged to publish without being

subject to any direction the policy amongst others of

maintaining gender balance in the appointment of members

of the judiciary, which shall guide the Committee.".

Immediately after article 96A of the Constitution, there shall Addition of new

article to the

be added the following new article

Constitution.

96B. (1) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the

office of judge or magistrate, the Minister

responsible for justice shall issue a public call for

applications open to persons who have the

necessary qualifications and experience required to

be appointed to the office of judge or magistrate.

(2) No person shall be entitled to be

appointed to the office of judge or magistrate

unless that person

(a) has the number of years of

practice of the profession of advocate in

Malta as established in articles 96 or 100 of

the Constitution as the case may be;

(b) at the time of application be in

possession of a valid warrant to practice as an

advocate in Malta and must not be precluded

from appointment as a member of the

judiciary by any legal impediment;

(c) is able to express oneself in the

Maltese and English language and able to

communicate in a clear and concise manner;

(d) possesses integrity, correctness

and honesty in public and private life;

(e) has knowledge of the law, of court

procedures and professional experience;

(f) is industrious, able to work under

pressure, diligent, analytical and able to make

decisions;

(g) is impartial and independent;

(h) is not involved in any commercial

or business activity and does not have a

financial situation which raises doubt about

the ability to perform judicial duties in a

proper manner;

(i) is able to work in a collegial

environment; and

(j) possesses knowledge of the Code

of Ethics for members of the Judiciary and is

willing to undertake continuing professional

development.".

Article 100 of the Constitution shall be amended as follows

(a) sub-article (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(1) Magistrates of the inferior courts shall be

appointed by the President acting in accordance with the

recommendation made by the Judicial Appointments

Committee established by article 96A of the Constitution.";

and

(b)

sub-articles (5) and (6) thereof shall be deleted.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 366 of the

29th July, 2020.

CLAUDETTE BUTTIGIEG

Deputy Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.54