The government has formally kick-started a process whereby Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera could be promoted to judge, just months after she was rebuked for breaching the judiciary’s code of ethics.
Government sources told the Times of Malta that Justice Minster Owen Bonnici had formally asked the newly-appointed Judicial Appointments Committee to give its advice in 30 days’ time as the government intended to appoint Dr Scerri Herrera as judge of the superior courts.
According to constitutional amendments approved by both sides of the House before the summer recess, the government has to seek the advice of the Judicial Appointments Committee when it plans to promote a magistrate to a judge. However, both the Prime Minister and the Justice Minster are empowered to ignore such advice, if they so wish, and move ahead with the appointment.
The amendments led the Dean of the Faculty of Laws of the University of Malta, Kevin Aquilina to describe the new provisions as “making banana republics shame themselves for not adopting the new Maltese method of judicial appointments”.
Dr Scerri Herrera, the sister of the Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change, José Herrera, has been serving as a magistrate since 1997.
The media reported in July that the Commission for the Administration of Justice had concluded a six-year investigation involving Dr Scerri Herrera and had rebuked her for breaching the code of ethics.
No evidence of impropriety found
The watchdog had not found any evidence of impropriety or favouritism by the magistrate in her work. It concluded that her behaviour had compromised her integrity and personal dignity, thus casting doubts on the independence and integrity of her office.
Dr Scerri Herrera reportedly compromised her integrity by attending parties during which invitees included political party members and, in the case of her own birthday party, a guest politician who was part of a case she was presiding over.
The judiciary watchdog also criticised the magistrate for giving interviews, seeking publicity in three magazines and entertaining a police inspector’s advances.
The Commission for the Administration of Justice did not find evidence that the magistrate had shown professional favouritism by appointing architect Robert Musumeci as a court expert in various cases in front of her before the two became companions.
Questions to Dr Bonnici on why the government was contemplating promoting Dr Scerri Herrera in view of the watchdog’s rebuke remained unanswered at the time of writing.
The Sunday Times of Malta reported a few weeks ago that Toni Abela, a former deputy leader of the Labour Party, and Grazio Mercieca, a former Labour candidate and adviser to Gozo Minster Anton Refalo, submitted an expression of interest in the post of judges.
ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com