European court nominees rejected again - Labour MP
Malta's list of candidates for the European Court of Human Rights has been refused for the second time because no women have been nominated, Labour MP Marie Louise Coleiro-Preca claimed yesterday.
When asked to confirm this, the Justice Ministry referred to a February 2008 decision taken by the European court which said that the Parliamentary assembly "may not reject the list in question on the sole ground" that it does not include a female.
The ministry also said it had not received any communication from the European court suggesting any revision of this decision. The decision was taken after the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe asked for an advisory opinion from the European Court of Human Rights. But it is not clear whether it is binding.
The list was first rejected by the Council of Europe in 2007 because the government had not included a female nominee as stipulated.
Ms Coleiro-Preca said the issue was raised a number of times during Council of Europe meetings this week, adding that various groups said that Malta should adhere to the requirement of gender balance and that Malta's claim that it did not have any women to nominate due to its small size was not valid.
The case goes back to 2006, when the government submitted a shortlist of Malta's three most senior judges - Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano, Mr Justice Joseph Camilleri and Mr Justice Joseph Filletti - to succeed Judge Giovanni Bonello, who reached the retirement age of 70. This three-man list was rejected by the Council of Europe the following year.
But former Justice Minister Tonio Borg had insisted that Malta's list could not be rejected solely on grounds of gender. He insisted that the list was in accordance with the European Convention, adding that Cabinet felt the three nominees were the most competent to fulfil that role from the 11 applicants to a public call. "Gender issues should not come into the selection process," he said.
Alternattiva Demokratika yesterday condemned the government for its "pig-headedness" in the nominations, with party head Arnold Cassola saying that it was a real shame the authorities refused to nominate at least one woman.
"Because of the government's insensitivity, the Council of Europe has refused to accept the Maltese list for the past three years," he said.
AD social protection and health spokesman Mary Anne Zammit said the government was sending a message that Maltese women are not capable of holding certain posts, something that had been demonstrated to be wrong by Judge Ina Cremona, a respected Maltese Judge at the European court in Luxembourg. AD's MEP candidate Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros said the government was depriving Maltese women of equal opportunities.
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Joseph Schembri
Jan 29th 2009, 21:38
Avassallo : Interesting and pertinent point! I wonder whether the EU also rejects judges from countries such as Poland.
Joseph Schembri
Jan 29th 2009, 21:08
Persons should be chosen for particular posts because of their suitability for said posts. I find this pressure to forcefully appoint females upsetting. If there are no women suitable for the post then let none be nominated.
I wonder how they would feel if all our nominees were women. In their short sighted manner that should be considered discrimination against men.
Avassallo
Jan 29th 2009, 19:18
This has very little to do with gender-bias. It just won't do to have an anti-abortion, anti-divorce, anti-gay marriage country on the European Court of HUMAN RIGHTS. Seriously!!:P
Andrew Cassar
Jan 29th 2009, 16:15
@Silvana Izzo Clarke
Your logic is totally flawed. May I point out that Malta is not only small in size but small in population. We are not Liliput you know!!. A more appropriate analogy would be if you had a group photo, say of 50 people, and you decreased the group to only 5 people...yes you WOULD have less people to choose from. The Judiciary in Malta has 20 judges, only 2 are women (10%). If lets say Italy has 1000 judges and 200 are women, they DO have more to choose from!!!
15% of judges in UK are female
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3738344.stm
Around 20% in USA, but only 11% of supreme court judges
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States_judiciary
Around 30% in Germany
http://www.germanlawjournal.net/article.php?id=508
I agree that we should increase the number of female judges, by increasing one or two other the percentage would be as high as other more developed countries. But we still would not have loads to choose from!!
David Galea
Jan 29th 2009, 14:25
I'd love to know which woman the general public thinks has the same level of expetise in the Maltese judicial system as Chief Justice Vincent DeGaetano, Mr Justice Joseph Camilleri and Mr Justice Joseph Filletti. No disrespect to our female judges and magistrates but we're not really in the same ball park are we?! As and when the persons appropriate for the job are appropriately gender balanced, then, and only then should our nominations list reflect this!
You deserve a job because you deserve it and are the best person for it, not because you are a man or a woman! The real question to be asked is whether enough is being done for women to become judges and magistrates and to climb up the ladder thereafter.
Andrew Gatt
Jan 29th 2009, 13:46
Quite frankly, I would rather that our esteemed local Parlimentarians (a good chunk of whom are members of the legal profession) get their act together once and for all and sort out the medieval mess our Law Courts are in. Same sentiment regarding the proposed shifting of the Gozo Law Courts. WHO CARES WHEN:
1. Cases drag on and on and on and on. 2. Evidence is lost or mislaid. 3. People die and their heirs have to continue. 4. Sittings are repeatedly deferred, with no prior notice and without the simple courtesy of an SMS, phone call or website to check out. 5. Dozens of cases are sheduled for the same time on the same day in front of the same Magistrate. 6. Prosecuting officers often fail to show up....and on and on and on.
Malta's wheels of justice may grind fine, but they sure grind slow!!
D Vella
Jan 29th 2009, 13:42
So nominate a woman . . . (duh) ! ! !
K.M. Vella
Jan 29th 2009, 13:25
Artificial gender-balancing is an inherently flawed concept.
"Gender issues should not come into the selection process" - Tonio Borg said it best.
Silvana Izzo Clarke
Jan 29th 2009, 12:05
What an embarassing thing to argue that due to its size, Malta is not able to nominate a woman in such a position! If I take a photo of a group of people and then shrink it down to a smaller size, do I leave someone out? I don't think so. People would look smaller but everyone would be in!