Chief justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici passed away today, aged 88.
He was the youngest brother of President Emeritus Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.
Judge Mifsud Bonnici was born in Cospicua on 17 July 1930, the son of Prof. Carmelo Mifsud Bonnici (il-Gross) and Mary Ross. He was educated at De La Salle College, SDt Joseph School, the Gozo Seminary, the Lyceum and the Royal University of Malta, from where he graduated as a lawyer in 1958.
He was appointed judge in 1988 and later chief justice in 1990. He retired in 1995.
Between 1992 and 1998, he served as Judge of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
He was nominated chairman of the Law Commission in 1999 and chairman of the Commission for Press Ethics from 2001 to 2009. He was chosen to represent Malta in the European Study Group on Civil Law from 2004 to 2009. He was president of the Chamber of Advocates from 1978 to 1983 and president of the Casino Maltese for almost 15 years.
Also renowned in the field of sports, he was president of the Malta Football Association between 1968 and 1982. Originally, he was a delegate for St George’s FC on the MFA council.
He a member of the UEFA Disciplinary and Control Commission (1970-1982) and served on the UEFA Appeals Board (1982-1984) as well as the World Cup Appeals Board (1982).
He was also Malta’s chess champion in 1955.
The Labour Party, Nationalist Party and the Institute of Journalists expressed their condolences.
Source: Dictionary of Maltese biographies, Michael J. Schiavione.