The Government is defending its decision to elevate Magistrate Antonio Mizzi to judge despite having been publicly censured by the Commission for the Administration of Justice in 2007.

Justice Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici, who proposed the promotion, which was endorsed by Cabinet, said Dr Mizzi was a very competent person for the job and the fact that he had been accused of breaching the code of ethics was a thing of the past.

Dr Mizzi – married to Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi – will be the first judge to be appointed by the new Administration. Dr Bonnici denied any political motives behind his appointment.

“Despite being censured by the commission, Dr Mizzi was appointed senior magistrate by the previous Administration.

“I think this fact alone shows that he is a very competent person to be a judge and I take full responsibility for his nomination,” Dr Bonnici said.

Without going into the merits of why Dr Mizzi should be elevated, the PN’s justice spokesman, Beppe Fenech Adami, said the Government should have waited for the judicial reform it was piloting before making any new appointments.

“Before the election there was an informal agreement between the Government and the Opposition that new appointments of the judiciary should wait for a judicial reform on the way members are appointed,” Dr Fenech Adami said.

“Why the Government has now decided to circumvent its own reform and appoint new members before the new rules are in place is beyond me,” he said.

Pressed on this point, Dr Bonnici said that although this was a legitimate argument, the Government could not wait to fill vacancies.

He pointed out that the late Mr Justice Ray Pace had resigned in December and Magistrate Apap Bologna retired in February.

“If the Chief Justice asked for their replacement in order not to create more delays I had to make sure that the full complement is in place before the reforms kick in,” he argued.

Although summer is considered to be a slow period for the courts, the parliamentary secretary insisted that he could not wait any longer.

“I will try to speed the necessary reforms but things take time,” Dr Bonnici said.

Apart from Dr Mizzi, two new magistrates will be sworn in by the President.

They are Aaron Bugeja, who heads the Attorney General’s criminal unit, and Charmaine Galea, a lawyer who practices in the same office as Labour’s deputy leader Toni Abela.

The Mizzi case:

Antonio Mizzi is the longest serving magistrate.

Following the entry into force of the code of ethics for members of the judiciary, the Commission for the Administration of Justice had informed Dr Mizzi (together with Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco) that ther position as executive members of sports organisations was not compatable with their role as members of the judiciary and were asked to conform.

Magistrate Mizzi was president of the Malta Basketball Association and a member on the executive of the Malta Olympic Committee.

In February 2007, the commission officially warned Magistrate Mizzi that it would “proceed to take other measures” if he failed to regularise his position.

Seeing that Dr Mizzi did not budge, the commission informed him in August 2007 that “his actions affect the trust he enjoys through his role and that he was neglecting to act in accordance with the code of ethics”.

A public statement followed announcing the censuring of the magistrate’s actions and calling for his resignation from the basketball association.

Dr Mizzi remained president of the MBA until June 2011 when he decided not to contest again.

During his 14 years heading the basketball association, he was also elected to the board of FIBA, the international basketball association.