Three NGO’s have blasted the appointment of the Environment Minster’s daughter to the post of Commissioner for Justice, saying, in an open letter to the Prime Minister, that her appointment is “an assault on our democracy, and stands in stark contrast to the meritocracy promised by this Government throughout the previous two electoral campaigns.”

It was announced earlier this week that Martina Herrera, a 25-year-old lawyer who obtained her law warrant just six months ago, was appointed to the post earlier this month. There was no public call for the post and Justice Minister Owen Bonnici told The Malta Independent that he had handpicked her, as was his prerogative. The appointment has led to uproar, with many saying that is stinks of nepotism.

The letter was signed by Neil Falzon of aditus foundation, Maria Pisani of Integra Foundation and Shaun Grech of The Critical Institute. A copy was sent to the Justice Minister.

“All the elements surrounding this appointment, taken cumulatively, clearly support our understanding that it is borne of preferential treatment afforded to Dr. Herrera in view of her father’s positon within Government,” they wrote.

“This unashamed disrespect for Malta’s justice system, including for all the persons who interact with it in their personal or professional capacities, is unacceptable. Such political nepotism is symptomatic of a much deeper problem. As we stressed in our recent joint statement, such decisions obscure the lines separating the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government.

We are saddened by the insistence of successive Governments on transforming into political party clubs or recruitment agencies those entities entrusted to secure justice, fairness, efficiency and democracy. We therefore strongly urge you to step up Government’s efforts at strengthening Malta’s struggling justice system, with a view of ensuring prompt, effective, and indiscriminate access to justice for all persons in Malta.

In particular, we urge Government to refrain from making appointments that tarnish the reputation and effectiveness of Malta’s justice system. We also believe implementation process of the Justice Reform Commission proposals needs urgent attention. Finally, we appeal to Dr. Herrera’s respect for Malta’s legal system, for her colleagues and for the intrinsic value of justice, and invite her to step down from her role as Commissioner for Justice,” the NGOs wrote.