The appointment of Dr Wenzu Mintoff to the Bench of Judges is deplorable in so many ways it’s difficult to know where to start.

You can start from the unseemly haste with which the appointment was rushed through: the only hint was buried in the list of President’s Engagements, but it would have taken quite a miracle for any journo’s eye to have been raised by that. Incidentally, busy, busy lady, our President, I don’t recall such a plethora of engagements being listed before - Hello Magazine should take note and start sending a pap). There was no hint as to the identity of the soon-to-be elevated one, anyway.

The reaction to the news, when it started Tweeting and Facebooking out, was predictable: at first, disbelief, on the lines of “oh come of it, not even Muscat would do that” and then the “oh for Heaven’s Sake, he really does think he can do anything he likes”. This sort of reaction came from most lawyers to whom I showed my phone when the news was breaking. Dr Mintoff is not a practising lawyer, attending Court for a few libel cases or representing your employer on very rare occasions does not give you the experience that is intended in the 12 years’ required as an advocate to be a judge. On this ground alone, Mintoff should not even have been considered, and this is certainly not the only ground. Dr Andre’ Camilleri, in whose regard the words “decent” and “gentlemanly” could have been invented, stood down as soon as issues of this type were raised: Mintoff, of course, did no such thing.

If you want an indication as to why Mintoff’s nomination was, and remains, unacceptable, take a look at the comments below the various stories reporting on it. The type of people who felt moved to spring to his defence seem to have been motivated by a number of variations on the same theme: he is Lejburist, the people who are opposing him are not, it is Lejber’s turn, therefore the people opposing him should shut up and, anyway, look what they did in the past.

If people like this were to be my primary defenders, I would feel very uncomfortable with their support, because clearly they are attributing to me their own very flawed and very dangerous yard-stick: namely that my political inclinations - or outright rabidness, in Mintoff’s case - are the measure by which I will be defining my actions. According to these morons, Mintoff is a good nomination because, and not in spite of, his political convictions, because it’s about time these political convictions were allowed the space within which to operate.

Incidentally, Mintoff’s band of supporters ignore the fact that during the long years of PN government, many individuals of Labour backgrounds were appointed to the Bench. It is unseemly to name them, because up to date, it was irrelevant what their political background is, but the Mintoff nomination has brought into stark contrast the simple fact that when Labour is in Government, you have to be Labour to get appointed and this is good and just, for Labour supporters, because now they will get a warm and fuzzy feeling that justice will be dispensed with an eye to the political colour of the people standing before Judge Mintoff for their interests to be served.

You might say that it’s not Mintoff’s fault that the people supporting his nomination see things this way, it’s up to him to behave impartially and there’s no evidence that he will not (lucky I read this over, I’d left out that last “not”, bloody Freud).

That’s as may be, and he has just taken an oath to do so, but can someone who up to a few days, hours, minutes (?) before was lashing out and barking his disdain at all things Nationalist really put all that behind him in the blink of an eye and a kiss of the Cross?

This is a man who so respects the Court room, it was reported and not denied, that he thought nothing of trying to kick an officer of the same Court into touch when he had the temerity to question Mintoff in the witness box. This is a man who so grasps the code of conduct applicable to the Judiciary that he saw nothing wrong in commenting on something and then refusing to comment on something else (within seconds) because he is now a member of the Judiciary and this, mark you, even before he had kissed the Cross. But of course, for the people who are sticking up for Mintoff, these are good things, not bad.

And yes, someone who has for long, long years been spewing out anti-Nationalist propaganda, who has edited the Labour Party’s official newspaper, a rag that takes journalism to new lows on a daily basis, and whose general outlook on life, at least insofar as he chooses to manifest it publicly, is bitter and angry, is unfit to be a Judge or Magistrate.

I for one am unable to have the slightest inkling of confidence that if I appear before him I will be given a fair hearing, whether it is on an appeal from a traffic offence or in a Constitutional case against the Government, the Government, mark you, whose Prime Minister chose to appoint him knowing full well that he was unfit for purpose and by his very appointment, proof positive that Joseph Muscat, Owen Bonnici and the rest of them have little respect for the principles enunciated by the Commission they themselves appointed to suggest reforms in the legal sphere.

If I do appear before him, Judge Mintoff should stand down and have his place taken by someone that will allow justice to be seen to be done.

I won’t be holding my breath.

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