Minister mum on judiciary's grievances

The suggestion of "action" possibly being taken by judges and magistrates over problems linked to their pensions and salaries has done little to perturb the Justice Minister, who preferred not to comment on the matter.

On Thursday, Chief Justice Vincent de Gaetano, who was speaking at the opening of the Forensic Year, said he would not be surprised if the Association of Judges and Magistrates took action in view of the persistent problems related to pensions and salaries.

The Chief Justice did not elaborate on the matter and Justice Minister Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici stuck to a simple "no comment" when contacted yesterday.

It is understood that the judiciary has for years been asking the government to review the capping mechanism on their pensions, which sees them receiving a drastically reduced income on retirement.

Apart from this, members of the judiciary have to retire by law when they reach 65, an issue that prompted the Chief Justice to call for the mandatory age to go up to 68.

The conditions of service were also highlighted as a grievance by the Chief Justice and Chamber of Advocates president Andrew Borg Cardona who expressed his amazement at how people were still accepting appointments to the Bench.

ksansone@timesofmalta.com