Lawyers cautious where to hedge their bets on new Chief Justice

Prominent lawyers have expressed caution in guessing who is expected to be nominated to the post of Chief Justice, as government is biding its time to appoint a replacement for Vincent De Gaetano who has been elected to serve as a judge on the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

19 July 2010, 12:00am
by Karl Stagno-Navarra

2 min read

A former Attorney General, Vincent De Gaetano will succeed Judge Giovanni Bonello who served as judge at the ECHR for the past eight years.

De Gaetano’s departure for Strasbourg has sparked speculation as who may be appointed to head the judiciary, but nobody seems to be prepared to hedge his bets on who may be appointed instead of him.

MaltaToday has sought the opinion of lawyers Emmanuel Mallia, Joseph Giglio, Giannella Caruana Curran and Andrew Borg Cardona.

All four were cautious in expressing an opinion.

Emmanuel Mallia stated: “I honestly feel that it is not within my competence to mention any names. This is the prerogative of the Executive power of our State. Even if I were to mention any name this will not bear any weight. Whoever is appointed will have the same respect and loyalty that I have shown other chief justices who came before him or her.”

Joseph Giglio said that he was “lost for lost for words” when he was asked to say whom he thought would be appointed Chief Justice.

“I honestly don’t know what to say…” he replied.

A similar answer was provided by Giannella Caruana Curran who also was not in a position to come up with names. “It’s rather difficult to tell, as this is a prerogative of the Executive which I certainly wouldn’t know what he would have in mind,” she said.

The President of the Chamber of Advocates Andrew Borg Cardona steered clear of providing any answers, insisting that he wasn’t in a position to mention any names.

Vincent De Gaetano’s departure for Brussels is seen as a headache for government as it adds to the deficit in complement at the law courts, after Judge Joe Galea Debono retirement last month.

Appointing Judges and Magistrates has always been a major problem for government. Besides being a question of finding the right persons for the job, with the right legal experience and character, not many of those identified are willing to accept the offer, mostly due to the package offered.

Government sources have told MaltaToday that Vincent De Gaetano is likely to stay in his post until September 22, when he is expected to take up his new post in Strasbourg.

“Until then government is not expected to announce any names,” a Justice ministry spokesman said.