Updated 12.30pm

The Chamber of Advocates has called on the Opposition leader to retract comments in which he expressed doubts about a judge's independence. 

In a statement, the Chamber said the comments about judge Antonio Mizzi put “in a bad light the independence and impartiality of the judge in question and on the other members of the judiciary in general”.

Mr Justice Mizzi is married to Labour MEP Marlene Mizzi. He has been tasked with hearing appeals filed by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, his chief of staff Keith Schembri, Tourism Minister Konrad Mizzi and others against a magistrate's decree which found that there were grounds to begin an investigation into whether money laundering laws were broken.  

Dr Busuttil's comments were reported on news site Newsbook in an article titled "'How can justice be done if the judge’s wife is a Labour parliamentarian?” – Busuttil."

“The Leader of the Opposition should use the legal venues available to him if he deems that there is a doubt with regards to the independence and impartiality of a particular member of the Judiciary," the Chamber said, as it called on Dr Busuttil to retract the comments.

PN wants judge recused

In a statement issued shortly after the Chamber's condemnation, the PN said that it would be formally asking for Mr Justice Mizzi to be recused from the appeals case.

It insisted Dr Busuttil's comments were not an attack on the judge or the judiciary but rather an insistence on the judiciary's independence being upheld and protected. 

“Such comments constitute, in the Chamber’s considered opinion, inappropriate pressure on the honourable judge and exceed all limits of prudence and responsibility in his regards and the Chamber thus feels that the Leader of the Opposition should retract such allegations,” it said.