Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543413
3 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 FEBRUARY 2026 NEWS Lawrence Mintoff's letter to puts Abela on the spot prime minister that such a de- cision would ensure that people like him would never get a chance to be nominated. The prime min- ister, allegedly told Mintoff to give him some time to think it over and that the "door remains open". However, Mintoff claims the conversation than continued on WhatsApp and it was at this point that Abela mentioned Mintoff's age as a factor. The judge is 66 and will retire in two years' time. Mintoff says that he pointed out that when Judge Joseph Azzopar- di was appointed chief justice in 2018, he had roughly the same two-year timeframe to retire as him. Mintoff says Abela told him that he "had not agreed with the appointment of Dr Azzopardi as chief justice". But then Mintoff goes on to list two episodes, which he claims are the real rea- sons why Abela does not want to support his nomination for chief justice. The two episodes hap- pened while Mintoff was exer- cising his duties as judge and was constrained to stand up to Abela. Paqpaqli incident The first episode concerns a civ- il case for damages brought by the victims of a supercar crash during the Paqpaqli għall-Istrina charity event, which was being heard by Mintoff. The crash happened in 2015 on the runway in Luqa. At the time, Abela was a lawyer rep- resenting one of the parties. At one point in 2018, the par- ties in the case reached an out of court settlement rumoured to be in the millions and judicial proceedings were withdrawn. Mintoff had ruled that the tax on expenses should be applied on the minimum value. The judge claims that he was subsequently informed by an em- ployee of his office that Abela was applying pressure on her and the court registrar over the taxation issue. Mintoff says that at the time, Abela, who was an MP, had also filed several parliamentary ques- tions in a bid to obtain informa- tion as to what compensation was paid by the government and the insurance companies to the Paqpaqli victims. The judge says Abela did this "in the hope that he gets paid according to the total value of compensation received and not on the minimum due as decreed by the court when levy- ing tax". Abela threat to sack employee Mintoff claims that when Abela failed to achieve his aim he start- ed putting pressure on the judge's employee and even "threatened to get her sacked". Mintoff says Abela had also implied that the judge was an accomplice to President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca so that tax- ation is levied at the minimum value. "That a judge is an accomplice with one of the parties in a case being heard in front of him, is one of the most serious accusations that can be made. But for Dr Ab- ela money was more important than the judiciary's independ- ence," Mintoff writes in his letter. After Abela became prime min- ister in January 2020, Mintoff had the occasion to meet him at the law courts during a courtesy vis- it. When Mintoff confronted the prime minister on the Paqpaqli issue, the prime minister dis- missed it and told him to forget it because it was "aqua passata" (water under the bridge). "This is the level of respect Dr Abela has for the judiciary and the rule of law," Mintoff writes. Dom Mintoff biography The second episode concerned the publication by the Labour Party's publishing house SKS of Fr Mark Montebello's biography of Dom Mintoff in 2021, which contained personal salacious de- tails. In his letter, Mintoff says that a member of his family, now de- ceased, mentioned in the book was accused of a criminal act. The judge says that he had asked Abela, as Labour Party leader, to withdraw the publication from the shops to no avail. Mintoff says Abela had tried to talk him out of it, even claiming SKS was independent from the PL, something, which the judge found to be untrue since the pub- lishing house's number and ad- dress were those of Labour HQ. Mintoff says that he later asked that a public apology be issued and the proceeds from the book be distributed to charity. How- ever, Abela refused this symbolic gesture. Mintoff says that these two in- cidents are the real reason Abela does not want to nominate him chief justice, accusing him of having a conflict of interest and being prejudiced against him. Abela should abstain The judge subsequently asked that the prime minister abstain from "taking part in the nego- tiations, consultations, deliber- ations, and the choice of who should serve as chief justice". The letter was also copied to President Miriam Spiteri Debono, the prime minister, Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard. Undoubtedly, the letter has scuppered Mintoff's chances of being nominated to the post of chief justice and is likely to lead to his resignation from the Bench amid the serious allegations that Abela has to answer for. KEY POINTS What Mintoff claims PM told him • Abela believes party diehards will oppose chief justice nomination from any of four judges indicated by the Opposition • Abela believes nominating any of the four would raise Alex Borg's stature • PM wants to leave chief justice appointment after the election • Lawrence Gonzi was mistaken to appoint George Abela president • Abela was against Joseph Azzopardi's appointment as chief justice Reasons Mintoff claims PM is opposed to his nomination for chief justice • Robert Abela as lawyer tried bullying court employee and insinuated Judge Mintoff was in cahoots with one of the parties in Paqpaqli charity event law suit • Mintoff says he stood up to Abela, claiming the lawyer was more interested in money than judiciary's independence • Abela rebuffed Mintoff's request to have Labour publishing house SKS withdraw Mintoff biography that attributed criminal acts to a family member 'That a judge is an accomplice with one of the parties in a case being heard in front of him, is one of the most serious accusations that can be made. But for Dr Abela money was more important than the judiciary's independence'