What the Government has achieved
The Government will now be implementing the following:
• The President of Malta will be selected by a two-thirds
majority in Parliament, and may be removed only by a two-
thirds majority, providing consensus to the appointment of
Head of State.
• Responsibility for judicial appointments will shift from the
Prime Minister to a newly-set-up Judicial Appointments
Committee which will propose three names for each
vacancy directly to the President. This is the first time ever
that the President will be exercising an executive power on
his own accord.
• The President will also appoint the Chair of the Permanent
Commission Against Corruption – following a two-thirds
majority vote in Parliament. This officer will automatically
hand over any findings of corruption to the Attorney
General.
• Future Chief Justices will be appointed only with the
approval of a two-thirds majority in the Parliament.
• Vital changes have been made to strengthen the
independence of the judiciary: disciplinary matters
concerning judges and magistrates will now be totally in the
hands of the Commission for the Administration of Justice.
This includes their removal, which was previously the remit
of Parliament and, in this case, members of the judiciary will
have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court.
• The terms of appointment and dismissal of the Ombudsman
will be included in the Constitution and all matters raised
by his/her office must be debated by Parliament.
