The Commission for the Administration of Justice had advised against Andre Camilleri. Has it now advised in favour of Wenzu Mintoff, or was it not consulted?
Andre Camilleri: the Commission for the Administration of Justice advised against his appointment as judge on the grounds that he worked in a corporate environment and not in court. Has the Commission now advised in favour of Wenzu Mintoff?
Twelve years ago, when one Andre Camilleri was selected to be made a judge, the Commission for the Administration of Justice had advised the government against it on the grounds that he had worked in a corporate environment for many years and did not have the requisite 12 years’ experience at the bar.
And this when they did not have the added problems that beset Wenzu Mintoff, because Camilleri was (and I suppose still is) a decent and correct man of the upstanding sort, who had never been involved in partisan politics and who did not spend his time editing the Labour Party’s newspaper and writing bitter and nasty editorials about people over whom he will now expect to sit in judgement.
It was his inherent decency and correctness that led Dr Camilleri to turn down the appointment, with which the government could have still proceeded against the Commission’s advice, on the grounds that his position, and the trust people should have in his competence, was irreparably undermined by the Commission’s views.
With this background in mind, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici should be asked at once whether he sought the Commission for the Administration of Justice’s advice, or whether the cabinet just proceeded unilaterally.
And if the Commission’s advice was sought and obtained, what was that advice? Did the Commission advise in favour of Wenzu Mintoff, did it advise against him only to be ignored, or was its advice not sought at all?
Do please read the article in the link below.
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20021108/local/andr-eacute-camilleri-turns-down-post-of-judge.163259
In this case, this was Malta’s loss.
We need judges who are more commercially aware to handle commercial cases that your typical court hack would not come across in his practice.
In the case of Wenzu Mintoff this is again Malta’s loss and we will pay for it heavily until the sod’s retirement or impeachment (the latter being unlikely as we just witnessed).
What is amusing is that the Government and the guy are trying to re-write his history not just with the DOI press release but also by deleting his blog and other tracks. You can still get a cache though:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6yIBCki5HS0J:wmintoff.blogspot.com/2012_11_01_archive.html+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk
This is not judge material.
“We need judges who are more commercially aware to handle commercial cases that your typical court hack would not come across in his practice”
Couldn’t be further from the truth. A judge HAS to have litigation experience. Litigation is the only real multidisciplinary field of law which makes you capable of understanding any dispute before you.
The judges who are making messes are the ones who have not worked for private parties in litigation. Litigation in itself is an art and a vocation and judges have to be trained in it lest we want judges who are impressed by reputation but not substance.
I think you need a mix of both. Some of the first court judgements involving matters more complex than disputes between neighbours have been appalling if not downright worrying.
This is not really a matter up for debate and the need for a specialised commercial court is (meant to be – the Wenzu debacle shows that this is just a wishlist) included in the reform project.
Fil-misrah ma’ Wenzu Mintoff. Mela issa mill-misrah ghal fuq il-bank tal-gudikatura.
There are gentlemen and there are hogs.
Does the Labour Party owe a living to Dom Mintoff’s nephew?
I’ve worked with Dr Camilleri for a few years, He is a decent, trustworthy, and fair man who is extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and capable. He would have made an excellent judge. Dr Mintoff pales in comparison.
I fully concur.
Dr Camilleri is a brilliant and an extremely likable person there really is no comparison between the two.
Suffice it to say that Dr. Camilleri, a totally honest man resigned from his post at the MFSA as soon as Joseph Muscat uttered the words: Passport Sales. Think about it.
I honestly do not think that Judge Mintoff can be trusted to act impartially in cases linked to politics or politicians. He has far too many chips on his shoulders.
Welcome to Animal Farm. If Wenzu Mintoff had some self-respect or respect for the judiciary then he would not have accepted the post.
‘did not have the requisite 12 years’ experience at the bar.’
Which reminds me. I wonder how Dr Sant is doing in Brussels, he’s being awfully quiet.
The case of Dr.Camilleri came to my mind when I read about Wenzu Mintoff.
I asked myself if what I was reading was true.
I think it was a bad choice. Many of my friends share the same thoughts. Joseph Muscat will pay dearly for the bad choices.
Time will tell. In our dear Malta is not how much you know but who you know.
Would someone that was previously attacked by Wenzu Mintoff in one of his articles protest on having Mr Mintoff preside on a case on the grounds of bias or something of the sort?
[Daphne – You are permitted to do so, yes, and anyone in that situation most definitely should.]
Minister Owen Bonnici did not have time to consult the Commission for the Administration of Justice. He was busy appointing a judge to hear his case about a car crash he was involved in.
If appearing in court in front of Wenzu Mintoff, his past opinions as a politician and in his role as editor of l-Orizzont, publicly available in print, on-line and probably on video, will be able to be cited by defendents’ lawyers to disqualify him as a judge hearing the cases.
This appointment is madness but of course everyone is becoming immune and it is summer after all. Why bother?
For heaven’s sake! What do you expect from this lot?
The Labour Party has hijacked all the institutions and it’s been only just over a year.
The PL since Mintoff never had any respect for the judiciary. They place stooges on the bench to decide their cases in their favour.
Charles Mangion just doesn’t get it.
“The media has already attacked him, he said, and even though they have the right to criticisem, observations should be made on his work and not on his political opinions.”
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-07-17/news/charles-mangion-defends-wenzu-mintoff-appointment-as-judge-5872451586/
And why have the chips fallen on Mangion to defend the decision?