European Court: Maltese nominations 'likely to be accepted'

Malta’s nominations for the appointment of a judge on the European Court of Human Rights are likely to be accepted, Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici has said.

The three nominations were rejected twice before because they did not include a woman.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici told Parliament that Malta had explained to the sub-committee for the election of judges in the Human Rights and Legal Affairs Committee of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly why it had nominated three men and no women and its reasons had been accepted.

The Maltese judge on the court is currently Giovanni Bonello.

A spokesman for the sub-committee had said that an all-male list could only be accepted as an exception if it was proven that there was strictly no possibility to nominate a woman. Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that the sub-committee had agreed to recommend to the Committee of Human Rights and Legal Affairs to accept the Maltese list. But when this committee last met there was no quorum and a decision could not be taken. The committee is to meet again this month.

The minister was replying to a parliamentary question by Labour MP Jose Herrera.