Ingrid Zammit Young has been nominated as magistrate.

The government’s nomination of two lawyers as magistrates was embroiled in controversy yesterday as it was forced to seek advice over whether one of the appointments would be in breach of the Constitution.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici referred the matter to the Commission for the Administration of Justice for its interpretation of a constitutional clause that appears to prohibit Ingrid Zammit Young from being made a magistrate in view of her position as chairwoman of the Employment Commission.

He also defended the nomination of the 32-year-old daughter of Anġlu Farrugia, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and former deputy leader of the Labour Party.

Caroline Farrugia Frendo was nominated to the bench just three days after completing the obligatory seven-year experience as a practising lawyer.

The nomination of Dr Zammit Young, a lawyer with Go plc who also heads the employment commission, has raised doubts over whether she is constitutionally eligible to be called to the bench.

The Constitution lays down that “A member of the Employment Commission shall not, within a period of three years commencing with the day on which he last held office or acted as a member, be eligible for appointment to or to act in any public office”.

In a statement late last night, Dr Bonnici said the Constitution did not exclude the eligibility altogether so he had referred the matter for a legal opinion on the interpretation of the clause.

Was nomination in line with the supreme law?

He said the interpretation had to also consider a “precedent” that may have been created during the previous administration. The government, he added, would rely on the advice given.

The matter had been raised in Parliament by justice shadow minister Jason Azzopardi during the time alloted for ministerial statements. But Dr Bonnici replied he had no statement to make.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil demanded to know whether the government’s appointment of the lawyer to such a prominent position was in line with the supreme law of the country.

The debate ended when the Deputy Speaker ruled that a minister could not be forced to make a statement to Parliament.

Dr Zammit Young was born in July 1973 and graduated as a lawyer in 1997. She went on to obtain a Magister Juris in International Law in 2002. She has served on various boards and advised the government on the new law on reformative justice.

Born in December 1983, Dr Farrugia Frendo graduated as a lawyer in 2008 and obtained her warrant in January 2009. She then graduated with a Magister Juris in international law in 2010.

Specialised in family and civil law, she worked in private practice until last October when she was appointed a court attorney.

Defending her nomination, Dr Bonnici said Dr Farrugia Frendo satisfied all the criteria.

In announcing the nominations earlier in the day, the government said the selection had raised to 13 the number of judges and magistrates appointed since Labour took office in March 2013, with 62 per cent of them being women.

This would bring the number of women forming part of the judiciary to 20, against 24 men. The new nominations follow the appointment as magistrates of former deputy attorney general Donatello Frendo Dimech, former Labour Xewkija mayor Monica Vella, lawyer Charmaine Galea, former Labour candidate Joanne Vella Cuschieri and former Labour international secretary Joe Mifsud.

Magistrates Edwina Grima and Miriam Hayman were promoted to judge during this legislature, while former Labour MP Wenzu Mintoff was also made a judge.

The latest move has once again ignored recommendations by the commission for the holistic reform of the justice system, headed by former European Court of Human Rights judge Giovanni Bonello, who had expressed disagreement with the way members of the judiciary were being appointed.

The commission had lamented the lack of transparency in the selection process and criticised the fact that there were no fixed criteria in determining who was the most qualified and fit for the post.

The Bonello Commission had said the government should make the decision based on the advice of a specialised authority.

Last October, Chamber of Advocates president George Hyzler had called on the government to implement the Bonello Commission’s recommendations. The chamber made the same call last night.