Lawyer Ramona Frendo is being nominated to serve as judge in the European Court.
She was chosen by a board made up of technical persons following a public call.
The vacancy was created after the term of Judge Peter G. Xuereb came to an end this year.
Following her nomination, a process will be embarked upon to obtain her approval by the relevant European bodies in line with European law. If approved, she will hold the position for six years.
Dr Frendo’s legal experience spans 22 years’ practice in the Maltese legal system, covering litigation and legal expertise in civil, insurance, industrial, family and criminal law, complemented by consultancy and drafting services to commercial entities and public authorities.
She served as member on the Justice Reform Commission 2013, responsible for a critical and comprehensive analysis of procedural and substantive law, with a view to improving judicial services, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
She also had practical experience of European institutions when she served as chair of the Visa Working Party during the Maltese Presidency of the Council in 2017.
Working closely with Council Legal Service, Dr Frendo chaired monthly technical meetings of experts from EU states and associated states, brokered an agreement on a Council mandate to the European Commission to commence visa facilitation talks with a third country, negotiated an agreement on a long-outstanding, complex technical and political decision of the Council, and represented Council in trilogues with the European Parliament, three of which were concluded successfully.
She received her academic formation at the University of Malta, the University of Cambridge and most recently, at King’s College London, where she passed with distinction the diploma in European Union Law, which comprehensively covered substantive, procedural and jurisprudential EU law, with a focus upon recent CJEU case law and practical case-studies.
Dr Frendo had openly endorsed the Labour Party in the 2013 general election, also accepting to appear on the PL's billboards.