Malta’s nominee for the post of judge at the European Court of Justice has been turned down, The Sunday Times has learnt.

Sources close to the Luxembourg-based court confirmed that Mr Justice Joseph Filletti “did not pass the test” of a panel of experts evaluating the suitability of nominees made by EU member states. Malta has been asked to nominate anothercandidate.

Both the government and the ECJ refused to comment on this development.

Judge Filletti – a former member of the Maltese judiciary, who retired from the bench last year upon reaching 65 – was nominated by the government following the resignation of Judge Ena Cremona, who decided to call it a day when she turned 75.

However, ECJ rules dictate that a sitting judge cannot leave before a replacement is found so Judge Cremona will have to retain her job until the vacancy is filled.

According to EU rules, it is up to member states to make their nominations for the appointment of judges on the European Court.

Every member state has a right to nominate two judges, one for the main court and the other for the general court.

However, according to the ECJ’s statute, appointments are to be made after consulting a panel responsible for giving an opinion on candidates’ suitability. It is at this stage that Judge Filletti failed to make it.

This is not the first time that a nominee of an EU member state has been turned down. According to the sources, in the past nominees from Greece and Romania were also rejected by the same panel, which consists of the president of the ECJ together with another six members, including retired ECJ judges and senior EU law experts.

Judge Filletti had a long career in the Maltese judiciary. He was appointed magistrate in 1979 and was later elevated to the post of judge.