Magistrate Charmaine Galea has been selected for promotion to the role of Judge, while three lawyers have been appointed to the bench as magistrates, the Office of the President said in statements on Friday morning.

A public call for the appointment of a new Judge and a new magistrate was issued on 7 November 2025 by the Ministry for Justice, with applications open until the end of that month.

Applications are then handled by the Committee on Judicial Appointments which forwards three shortlisted candidates to the President of Malta from which the final selection is made.

There were 12 expressions of interest for the post of Judge, the Office of the President said, and the three shortlisted individuals were Magistrate Charmaine Galea, Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit, and Magistrate Brigitte Sultana.

From this shortlist, the President selected Magistrate Charmaine Galea to be promoted to the post of Judge of the Superior Courts.

Charmaine Galea was appointed as a magistrate in June 2013 by the Labour government.  Notably, she led the 17 Black magisterial inquiry which resulted in charges against former OPM Chief of Staff Keith Schembri and former government minister Konrad Mizzi.

Meanwhile, three lawyers were appointed to the bench as magistrates.

The Office of the President said that there were 19 expressions of interest in the three available posts.

The three individuals ultimately chosen to take on the role were Claudio Zammit, Patrick Valentino, and Franca Giordmaina.

The others who were shortlisted but not selected were Natalino Caruana Debrincat and Daniela Pace Grima.

The President congratulated the new appointees and thanked the members of the Judicial Appointments Committee for the meticulous work they have carried out.