Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1543413
CONTINUES FROM PAGE 1 "I believe that is the appropriate forum where my reactions should be made, and not in public fora," he said. Mintoff had alleged that Abe- la appeared more interested in money than in safeguarding ju- dicial independence. The prime minister dismissed the claim, say- ing he would address it before the commissioner. On separate allegations that he would refuse to consider Opposi- tion nominations for chief justice to avoid appearing weak, Abela said discussions had taken place between himself, Opposition leader Alex Borg, Justice Minister Jonathan Attard and Opposition justice spokesperson Joe Giglio at Castille. He said the parties had agreed on criteria for the appointment of a new chief justice. Among the main criteria, Abela said, was that the candidate should not have served in the role for too long, as "the appetite for reform would have started to fade", and should not be close to pensionable age. "The only reasons I look at are the administration of justice," he said. Abela also rejected sugges- tions that he had threatened an employee within Mintoff's office while the judge was presiding over the Paqpaqli case. "He did not say that. There wasn't even a sentence on that case," Abela said, noting the mat- ter had been settled out of court. "You need to be loyal to what Judge Mintoff said in his letter." He ex- pressed sur- prise at what he described as widespread reporting and com- mentary claiming he had attempted to interfere in the courts' work. "This is absolutely not true," he said. "How can there be interfer- ence in the judiciary's work, when the judiciary has no say in the court's accounts?" Abela argued that the episode referenced by Mintoff concerned the responsibility of the court registrar rather than the judiciary itself. "If there is someone who is trying to pit me in a confron- tation against Judge Mintoff, is wrong," he said. "There was a lack of agreement on that case, but it's dead and buried, and water under the bridge." He insisted that neither that ep- isode nor any other mentioned had any bearing on the choice of the next chief justice. "I am clear: there was no inter- ference to any member of the ju- diciary. I say it here, and I will tell it to the Commissioner for Judicial Standards, if he calls for me," Abela said. Responding to Mintoff's request that he recuse himself from dis- cussions on the appointment of a new chief justice, Abela said he could not abdicate his constitutional responsibilities. "I cannot abdicate from my role as dictated by the Constitution. My job is to ensure the criteria are held, and that function will be carried out," he said. Abela also denied claims that he wanted to delay the nomination of a chief justice until after the next general election. "That is proved untrue, as we submitted a name for the role," he said, adding that despite a deadline set by the Opposition for last Tuesday, the Opposition had said it had not yet taken a de- cision. Asked whether the latest devel- opments would suspend talks on appointing a new chief justice, Abela said discussions would continue. 2 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 25 FEBRUARY 2026 NEWS KURT SANSONE ksansone@mediatoday.com.mt JUDGE Lawrence Mintoff has accused Prime Minister Robert Abela of being prejudiced against him in an explosive letter sent to the Cabinet secretary, MaltaTo- day has learnt. In his five-page letter, seen by MaltaToday, Mintoff says he was summoned for a meeting at Auberge de Castille by the prime minister on 11 February to dis- cuss the appointment of chief justice. It is an open secret within court circles that Mintoff had been an- gling for the top job. MaltaTo- day is informed that Mintoff had communicated his wish to be- come chief justice with the prime minister some five months prior to the meeting at Castille. Mintoff's name, along with those of three other judges, had been leaked by Newsbook on 4 February as the Opposition's choices for chief justice. The judges were: Lawrence Mintoff, Edwina Grima, Francesco Depas- quale and Anthony Ellul. However, Mintoff alleges in his letter that during the meeting Abela told him he cannot nom- inate anyone of the four people identified by the Opposition be- cause it would appear as if the prime minister is "giving in to the Opposition". The government subsequently nominated Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera, who was voted down. Mintoff claims that Abela told him such a decision would not go down well with the "party's die- hards" and it would contribute to inflating Alex Borg's "stature". Mintoff writes that he disagreed with the prime minister that such an important post should remain unfilled because of "partisan con- siderations" rather than make a choice based on the person's merits and what is "in the coun- try's best interest". Gonzi's mistake to make George Abela president The judge says that he men- tioned the nomination of George Abela as president in 2009 by then Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, a decision supported by the Labour Opposition at the time. George Abela is Robert Ab- ela's father. "Neither side won; rather the country won," Mintoff says he told Robert Abela. Nonetheless, Mintoff claims the prime minis- ter told him it was "a mistake by Dr Gonzi to nominate Dr George Abela as president". Mintoff claims the prime min- ister kept insisting that the PN's plan was to "burn" the four pro- posed judges because they had somebody else in mind. The prime minister purportedly told Mintoff the name of the person the PN supposedly had in mind and insisted lawyers were op- posed to the person. "I told him that if it is true the Opposition proposed four names to throw them under the bus, why not call their bluff, if accord- ing to him this was bluff," Mintoff writes. The judge continues that the prime minister told him the po- litical atmosphere was too hot and lacked serenity to allow for such an appointment to happen now. Mintoff claims the prime minister told him he preferred to leave the issue until after the next election. Mintoff says that he told the Judge Lawrence Castille puts Abela will be reply in appropriate fourm PRIME Minister Robert Abela must answer to Judge Lawrence Mintoff's accusations as soon as possible, Opposition Lead- er Alex Borg said in a statement. In a message to the nation, Borg said the situa- tion is unprec- edented after the judge sent a damning letter to Cabinet with serious accusations against the prime min- ister. Borg said this letter shows clear proof that the chief justice appointment is being used as a political football. Among the accusations, Mintoff said Abela told him he would not pick him or any other names suggested by the Nationalist Party because it would look like he's "giving in to the Opposition". Borg also listed the other accu- sations made in the letter, which include bullying court employees and pri- oritising money over judicial in- dependence. "Prime Min- ister Robert Abela has a lot to answer to, and the Mal- tese and Gozitan people are expect- ing that he tell us, as soon as possible, what his re- sponse is to the accusations be- ing made by Judge Mintoff." Soon after Borg made his state- ment, the Labour Party sent out a press statement insisting that he react to the second name pro- posed by the government. "The name was tabled during discussions last Wednesday and the Opposition committed itself to giving an answer by Monday (yesterday)," the party said. Judge Lawrence Mintoff sent an explosive letter to the Cabi- net secretary on Tuesday accus- ing Abela of being prejudiced against him. In the five-page letter, Mintoff claims that the PM is opposed to his nomination for chief justice because of three past incidents with Abela. In the first incident, Mintoff claims that Robert Abela as a lawyer tried bullying a court em- ployee and insinuated that Judge Mintoff was in cahoots with one of the parties in the Paqpaqli charity event lawsuit. He eventu- ally stood up to Abela, claiming the lawyer was more interested in money than the independence of the judiciary. Reporting by Nicole Meilak Borg urges PM to answer Mintoff's 'damning' claims