In light of the six appointments made within the judiciary on Thursday, President George Vella appealed to the Socialist Government to implement the recommendations of the Venice Commission. Opposition Leader Dr Adrian Delia has been making such appeals to government for the past weeks.
During his inauguration speech, Dr George Vella said that Government needs to show the same will to act as he does in other areas, so that the Maltese Judiciary is made stronger in the best way possible.
The President of Malta noted that even though some changes were made in 2016, these were not enough, and the Venice Commission made it very clear, that there is a need for further amendments to be made as soon as possible.
Even Judge Emeritus Giovanni Bonello recently said that government packed the judiciary seats with friends of friends and the damage that was made to the justice system might take years to be repaired.
With this week’s appointments, the government has ignored the different calls made by civil society and also by the Nationalist Opposition to stop making judicial appointments until the necessary amendments on the way the judiciary is appointed are made, as recommended by the Venice Commission.
The Venice Commission noted that there was too much power centred on the Prime Minister, especially when it comes to the appointments of Judges and Magistrates.
