Prof. Eugene Buttigieg.

A university associate professor in European law, Eugene Buttigieg, has been nominated to serve on the General Court of the European Union.

The posts come with a handsome remuneration package of about €250,000 annually

Prof. Buttigieg has taken the place on the list of the country’s former nominee, Mr Justice Joseph Filletti, whose nomination was rejected in May.

The selected candidate will replace Judge Ena Cremona, who retired in March at the age of 75.

The government has also expressed its wish that the Maltese judge on the European Court of Justice, former Attorney General Anthony Borg Barthet, serves another six-year term.

The names were submitted by the Maltese government during the past week, sources told The Sunday Times. The two nominations have to be vetted before their posts are confirmed.

Finding a replacement for Judge Cremona has proved to be a daunting task. She took up the post in May 2004 and expressed her wish to retire before her term was up.

She retired in March but the Maltese government failed to secure its nomination for her successor in the ECJ’s General Court, formerly known as the Court of First Instance, because Mr Justice Filletti did not make it through the selection process.

His nomination was turned down by an ECJ consultative panel following a thorough interview with EU judges.

According to EU rules, member states are expected to submit their nominations for judges at the ECJ’s Grand Chamber and the General Court. However, these are not automatically accepted as they first have to be grilled by a panel of retired judges and senior EU law experts.

The posts, which come with a handsome remuneration package of about €250,000 annually, will be filled in October.

Normally, ECJ posts are reserved for former or current sitting members of the judiciary with a very good background in European law.

Only a few of the current Maltese members of the judiciary were qualified so the search was broadened with a call for applications.

Prof. Buttigieg is an associate professor within the Department of European and Comparative Law at the University of Malta and a Visiting Fellow in European Law at the British Institute of International and Comparative Law in London.

Born in 1961, he has held various posts, including senior legal officer at the Foreign Affairs Ministry. He currently works as a legal consultant to the Consumer and Competition Division.

Dr Borg Barthet held the post of Attorney General for a number of years and was also a part-time lecturer and council member at the University of Malta.