Grazio Mercieca, sworn in as magistrate yesterday, had in fact been cleared by the Judicial Appointments Committee to be a judge, the Times of Malta has learnt.

The same constitutional body also cleared the appointment of Toni Abela as judge. He too took his oath of office yesterday. Earlier this year, Dr Abela failed to win the European Parliament’s approval to become a member of the European Court of Auditors.

It could not be confirmed yesterday why the government decided to appoint Dr Mercieca magistrate once the Judicial Appointments Committee advised he could serve in the superior courts.

Grazio Mercieca and Toni Abela. Photos: Mark Zammit Cordina

The government approached Dr Mercieca after the committe’s clearance, and he accepted the role of magistrate instead of judge, senior government sources said.

Asked about it, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici would not comment. “As you know, the procedure on the appointment of members of the judiciary is confidential, and I cannot comment about it,” he said.

He was also asked whether it was possible that Dr Mercieca, 59, could eventually be appointed to sit as a judge in Gozo, but Dr Bonnici again refused to comment.

“I think you read a lot of fiction and novels,” he quipped. “I cannot state anything on the subject… the work assigned to magistrates is not my remit but the Chief Justice’s,” he added.

A historic mess never seen before in the annals of Maltese constitutional lawmaking

In its electoral manifesto, the Labour government pledged to assign a judge specifically to the Gozo Court, so the majority of appeals would be heard there.

Although originally from Żabbar, Dr Mercieca has resided in Gozo for many years and served as president of Labour’s Gozo section. Following Labour’s return to power in 2013, he was appointed the Gozo Minister’s chief adviser, with a financial package of €50,000. In 2015, he resigned to take up the role of court attorney attached to Mr Justice Wenzu Mintoff.

The sources confirmed Dr Abela and Dr Mercieca were the first to apply to become judges under the new system introduced through constitutional amendments approved unanimously by the House of Representatives before the summer recess.

Members of the judiciary are now appointed following the scrutiny of the Judicial Appointments Committee, composed of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General, the Ombudsman, the Auditor General and the President of the Chamber of Advocates. The government, however, can still ignore the committee’s recommendation and make its own appointments.

In such instances, the Prime Minister is obliged to make a statement in Parliament.

The dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Malta, Kevin Aquilina, described the new system as “a historic mess never seen before in the annals of Maltese constitutional lawmaking”.

He said that the system made “banana republics shame themselves for not having adopted the new Maltese method of judicial appointment procedure themselves”. It is known that the Justice Minister has asked the Judicial Appointments Committee to give its opinion on the appointment of Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera as judge.

It could not be confirmed yesterday whether the committee had decided or whether it was still deliberating. Last June, Magistrate Scerri Herrera was rebuked by the Commission for the Administration of Justice for breaching the code of ethics.

Chief Justice asks public not to ridicule judiciary

In a short address following the swearing-in of Mr Justice Toni Abela and Magistrate Grazio Mercieca, the Chief Justice, Silvio Camilleri, said that while scrutiny of the judiciary was good and healthy in a democracy, not all criticism was justified.

Without pointing any fingers or being specific, Dr Camilleri said certain criticism “from those who should know better” was only intended to harm the judiciary, expose it to ridicule and tarnish its reputation. He said such criticism often came from those who did not always agree with certain decisions regarding the judiciary.

Referring to the appointment to the Bench of people close to politics, Dr Camilleri said it was not new and past appointments had shown appointees rose to the occasion and left their political past behind them as soon as they became members of the judiciary.

He augured that both Dr Abela and Dr Mercieca would follow suit.

ivan.camilleri@timesofmalta.com