A reform of the way nominations to the judiciary are made will happen but only within a wide-ranging review of the entire system, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said.

He was reacting to a statement by the Chamber of Advocates which said the government ignored recommendations by the justice reform commission on how to appoint judges and magistrates. The statement came in the wake of the nomination of two judges and two magistrates. 

The Giovanni Bonello commission had called for such nominations to be made by an autonomous board, although the government would still have the final word.

Dr Bonnici said that, while he agreed with the proposed system, he could not adopt it yet it because it formed part of a list of about 400 changes put forward by the same commission. 

“The Bonello report is wide ranging and it is being translated into a holistic Bill. We can’t pick and choose what changes to make," Dr Bonnici said. 

More in Times of Malta and the e-paper on timesofmalta.com.