Victoria Buttigieg will become Malta's first State Advocate as of 18 December this year, Minister for Justice, Culture, and Local Government Owen Bonnici announced on Tuesday.

This will lead to the separation of the roles of the Attorney General as per the recommendations of the Venice Commission, Bonnici said.

Speaking at a press conference about the matter, Bonnici said that Buttigieg's position was confirmed after the unanimous recommendation of an appointment commission and following a public call.

The creation and opening of the role came after the Venice commission recommendations. Bonnici said that through such procedures the government will strengthen the rule of law and the country itself. 

He spoke about the role of the Attorney General and referred to it as having been a 'two in one'. The Attorney General had the role of a general prosecutor, together with the role of giving government advice; something which has been present in Maltese law ever since 1936.

This role has now been divided into two posts where the state advocate will be compelled to act in the public interest and be responsible for civil functions, whilst the criminal functions will be taken care of by the Attorney General.

Buttigieg will benefit from the same protection that the Attorney General and the members of the judiciary both have, as the role is acknowledged by the Constitution, Bonnici said.

He said that the next step is to pass prosecutorial functions to the Attorney General, because contrary to other countries, Malta has a system where several prosecutions are done by the Malta Police Force. Bonnici said this needs to change.

The idea behind such a move is so that the decision as to whether to prosecute or not is made by a person who is institutionally independent, Bonnici added.

He also noted that the Attorney General's office is currently looking to employ 20 new lawyers - the largest single batch ever recruited at one go.  This is besides the office's move from the Presidential Palace in Valletta to the now fully restored old Art's Museum in the capital.

The State Advocate's office will be housed in a separate building which is currently used by another ministerial entity.

This is to show that the move to separate the roles is not some form of "cosmetic change" but is a change that the government has been thinking about and preparing for a while, he concluded.