Doubts on whether Caroline Farrugia Frendo is eligible to become magistrate should be clarified as it was in the interest of the justice system to have certainty, Chamber of Advocates president George Hyzler said yesterday.

Giovanni Bonello, a former judge of the European Court of Human Rights and the author of the government’s justice reform blueprint, warned of “serious problems” if there were to be a successful constitutional challenge to the new magistrate.

The question is whether Speaker Anġlu Farrugia’s daughter – who was sworn in as lawyer on February 23, 2009 – satisfies the seven-year legal practice proviso in the Constitution.

While the 32-year-old will only have been a practising lawyer for seven years next month, questions have been raised on whether her time spent as a court attorney – since last November – can be considered as legal practice under the Constitution.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday stood by his refusal to refer the case to the Commission for the Administration of Justice.

The Opposition yesterday expressed confidence the President would intervene if the minister persisted in his stand.

In a tweet this morning, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil said that the ball was now in the President's court. "It is for her to ensure and reassure that the Constitution is respected," he said.

Contacted by the Times of Malta, Dr Hyzler said that, without entering into the merits of the nominated lawyer, there was the need for certainty once doubts on the constitutionality of the nomination were being raised.

“The Chamber does not comment on the individual’s suitability or eligibility, for that matter,” he said. “The fact is, however, that a doubt has been cast on her constitutional eligibility. In the interests of legal certainty and of the administration of justice it may be prudent for the Prime Minister to follow the precedent that he adopted in the case of the nomination of Ingrid Zammit Young and refer the matter to the commission for its advice.”

Addressing a press conference in front of the Justice Ministry yesterday, shadow justice minister Jason Azzopardi insisted the government should seek advice on the controversial nomination.

“We cannot understand the government’s reluctance to seek advice on this nomination,” Dr Azzopardi said. He said that now that the dean of the Faculty of Laws, Kevin Aquilina, and Dr Bonello had agreed this was a grey area, the minister could not carry on as if nothing had happened.

The government should avoid the prospect of the new magistrate being challenged in court as this would lead to “judicial mayhem all decisions handed down by the court would be nullified, he added.

Speaking during the TVM programme Reporter on Monday, Dr Bonello said the government should not proceed with the nomination of Dr Farrugia Frendo until there was clarity on the constitutionality of her appointment.

In case of uncertainty on her nomination, the new magistrate could face a challenge in court “and this won’t be very wise”, Dr Bonello said.

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