Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri failed the screening process to sit on the European Court of Justice, and Peter Xuereb, head of European law at the university, has been nominated instead.

The news that the government’s first choice had not made it to the Luxembourg-based court was communicated to members of the judiciary at a meeting with the Chief Justice yesterday.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici confirmed in a statement later in the day that Dr Camilleri had not satisfied the criteria for the post. He said the objection was over his level of expertise in European law and not over his experience or integrity.

Sources said the screening that formed part of the selection process included an interview with a panel composed of, among others, retired judges.

The dean of the Faculty of European Law is expected to appear before the panel in the coming weeks. Prof. Xuereb graduated as a lawyer in 1977.

The objection was over his level of expertise in European law and not over his experience or integrity

When contacted, the Chief Justice would not confirm or deny whether he had been unsuccessful. He asked the Times of Malta to await the government’s statement.

The Chief Justice’s nomination for the post of judge at the General Court, which used to be known as the Court of First Instance in the European Court of Justice, was filed last year.

Malta already has a judge at the General Court, Ena Cremona.

Dr Camilleri, who turns 63 next month, graduated as a lawyer in 1975. He served as attorney general and was appointed Chief Justice in 2010, succeeding Vincent de Gaetano, who now sits on the European Court of Human Rights. In 2012, Malta’s nominee for the post of judge at the European Court of Justice, Judge Joseph Filletti, was also rejected. The Luxembourg-based court announced that he “did not pass the test” of a panel of experts evaluating the suitability of nominees made by EU member states.