The incumbent Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri. Photo: Jason Borg

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday quashed a rumour doing the rounds that Labour Party lawyer Paul Lia is set to be appointed Chief Justice in the near future.

Though incumbent Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri is still four years away from reaching the retirement age of 65, in recent weeks there has been growing speculation that he will be moving on.

Lawyer Andrew Borg Cardona, writing in his weekly column for Times of Malta today, says the legal world is awash with rumours about who will be the next Chief Justice when the incumbent moves on, “for whatever reason”.

While not naming him, he strongly hints that Dr Lia, Labour’s legal representative, is one of the two names being mentioned: he writes of “a senior lawyer who would be comfortable in one of the Three Villages, and not Attard or Balzan either”.

He did not comment on speculation but added rumour was incorrect

The other person Dr Borg Cardona points to is from the deputy leadership of the Labour Party. This would be lawyer Toni Abela.

However, sources told this newspaper that the speculation Dr Lia had been earmarked was much stronger than that surrounding Dr Abela.

Asked for his reaction to the rumour about Dr Lia, Dr Bonnici yesterday said he did not comment on speculation but added it was “incorrect”.

When contacted, Dr Lia said there was no truth in the rumour and declined further comment.

Attempts to reach Dr Abela and Chief Justice Camilleri for their comments were unsuccessful.

According to the Constitution, the Chief Justice is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. Though the candidate may be a practising lawyer, the last time that this post was filled by somebody who did not hail from the judiciary was many years ago.

Chief Justice Camilleri, the former Attorney General, has been in office since 2010, succeeding Vincent De Gaetano, who moved to Strasbourg as a judge in the European Court of Human Rights.

The Chief Justice is ex-officio president of the Court of Appeal, the Constitutional Court and of the Court of Criminal Appeal.

He is also ex-officio deputy chairman of the Commission for the Administration of Justice and presides over the Rule-Making Boards set up under the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure and the Criminal Code.