As a young boy, I use to frequent my grandfather’s house in Sliema together with my father very often during the summer holidays. We lived just around the corner from him, but since I was a boarder at St Aloysius College I was unable to see as much of my grandfather as I wanted to. However, he did always help me cover the syllabus of the next scholastic year. He was a very strict and disciplined man of character, always with a smile on his face and he always did his utmost to keep us all on track. He was also a very devout man, and went to 6 o’clock Mass every day of the year without missing a single one.  The Times of Malta of Friday 18 July carried an article, on page 8, with the heading “Prominent, sometimes controversial, appointments to judiciary” by Ivan Martin, who stated: “Wenzu Mintoff’s appointment may have raised eyebrows but his is not the first politically charged appointment to the judiciary.” He went on to mention some of the more prominent appointments and, among others, he mentioned my grandfather, Sir Luigi Camilleri. The least I could do for my grandfather now that he is no longer with us is to put right a few anomalies in Ivan Martin’s article. I do not wish to go into the political aspects of this article, but am compelled to do so that readers will be fully aware of who Sir Luigi Camilleri was and how he was appointed magistrate, judge and chief justice. It is pertinent to point out that he was appointed judge by the party in government – The Progressive Constitutional Party (1927-1932) under the premiership of Lord Gerald Strickland – that is when his own party (Partito Democratico Nazzionalista) was in Opposition.  He was appointed judge on his own merits, and only after serving as a magistrate (and not as a lawyer). He was appointed Chief Justice in 1952 and served under both Nationalist and Labour governments. Such were his high standards of integrity that during his term as magistrate, judge and chief justice, he was very prudent in that he kept a professional distance from the general public so as not to compromise his office. His social circle consisted of his immediate and distant family. One of his few recreations was to enjoy his summer residence in Marsalforn with his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. I was one of his many grandchildren. This is what Ivan Martin had further to say in his article: “Sir Luigi Camilleri, former Speaker of the house was appointed magistrate in the early 1930s. He was later made judge and eventually ended his career as chief justice. He had been elected to the House of Representatives on the Partito Democratico Nazionalista ticket, an ancestor of today’s Nationalist Party”. Contrary to what the article stated, Sir Luigi Camilleri was never Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was offered the post of Speaker but turned it down due to family commitments (wife and seven children at the time), and also because his private practice as a lawyer in Gozo was more important to him. He had some two-thirds of the Gozitan population as clients (irrespective of their political colour) who would often queue inside and outside his office even after darkness fell. He was so well known for his meticulousness and attention to detail that even people from Malta would cross over to Gozo seeking his services. It is possible that he may have served as acting Speaker of the House from time to time, but this was never a firm appointment.   In 1906 Luigi attended the Seminary in Gozo. He was 13½ when he passed his matriculation exams and entered the Malta University in Valletta to follow a seven-year law course.   In 1913 At the age of 20, along with other prominent university students, Luigi graduated as Doctor of Jurisprudence.   In 1921 When he was only 28, he was one of the founding members of the Malta Legislative Assembly under the Amery-Milner Constitution that granted Self-Government to Malta.   In 1924 When Sir Luigi was appointed magistrate, the party in power at the time was the UPM (Unione Politca Maltese) that did not command a majority and initially relied on the external support of the Labour Party.   In 1930 Sir Luigi was appointed judge in 1930 under the premiership of Lord Gerald Strickland (PCP) and not by the PDN. He served for 22 years when Malta was going through difficult times, when bombs were falling all over the place, hitting the Law Courts building (where it stands today) and, lest one forgets, the Royal Opera House in Valletta, the Barrakka Gardens and Grand Harbour. Pre-war and post-war were just as bad. Sir Luigi was the central figure in the Ultra Vires and Internees’ cases, and in the Conspiracy Trials.    In 1954 Sir Luigi was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. According to some of his children who are still alive today, Sir Luigi’s 34- year term as a member of the judiciary is the longest ever recorded in our history books.   In 1957 When Sir Luigi Camilleri’s term of office as chief justice was over, he gave Sir Anthony Mamo a clean handover. Sir Anthony, at a later stage, became the first President of the Republic of Malta under a Socialist government. In 1971, Professor John J. Cremona (who happens to be Sir Luigi Camilleri’s nephew) succeeded Sir Anthony Mamo as chief justice and served till 1981. Between 1971 and 1981 the MLP was in power under the premiership of Dom Mintoff, and Professor J.J. Cremona served throughout the whole of Dom Mintoff’s reign.  To sum up, Sir Luigi was a man widely respected in Malta and Gozo for his integrity, seriousness, intelligence and abilities, apart from being a family man, a dedicated husband, a loving father, a wonderful grandfather and great-grandfather (four generations). He adored his wife and eight children, grandchildren, his brothers and sisters, cousins, nephews and nieces. Members of the judiciary had a good word to say about him in all spheres, and were always keen to follow his admirable example in their chosen career. Many law students went on to use precedents set by Sir Luigi Camilleri during their course of studies and eventually, in their theses and exams.    Sir Luigi’s ‘legal’ family tree Fifty-five of his relatives who took up the legal profession consist of chief justices, judges, magistrates, advocates, notaries, legal procurators and law students. They were and still are all very successful in their respective professions. My conclusion, therefore, and possibly others out there would also agree with me, is that one cannot concur with Ivan Martin’s misquotes, comparison and theory, as one cannot ever compare apples with pears. A pear tree cannot produce an apple.   Mr Camilleri is the grandson of Sir Luigi Camilleri   BOX Sir Luigi Camilleri (1892-1989) Son of Public Notary Giuseppe Camilleri and Matilde Bonello Born in Victoria, Gozo on 7th December 1892 Graduated as a lawyer in 1913 In 1914, at the age of 21, he married Giuseppe Cali’s daughter Erminia In 1919 he became Consular Agent for France in Gozo Founding member of the PDN and elected to Parliament in 1921 Appointed magistrate in 1924 by the Unione Politca Maltese (UPM) ruling with MLP support, and not by the PDN Appointed judge in 1930 under the Premiership of Lord Gerald Strickland (PCP) and not by the (PDN) when he was 37 and served for 22 years Appointed chief justice in 1952 and served till 1957 Between 1952 and 1957 he was also appointed President of Her Majesty’s Supreme Court of Appeal following in the footsteps of Chief Justice Sir George Borg Sir Luigi was knighted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1954 During his 27-year tenure as judge (between 1930 and 1957), not once was any of his judgements ever rejected by the Privy Council