A bill proposing constitutional amendments to introduce an anti-deadlock mechanism for the appointment of Malta's next Chief Justice was tabled in Parliament on Monday, and cleared the first reading stage.
The draft law, presented for its first reading by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, seeks to address the current impasse between government and Opposition over the nomination of a successor to the retiring Chief Justice, a role that under the Constitution requires a two-thirds parliamentary majority.
Government Whip Naomi Cachia moved the first reading of the bill, indicating that there was agreement for it to proceed during Monday's sitting.
Opposition Whip Robert Cutajar said that the Opposition had not been formally requested that the item be placed on the agenda under the standard three-day procedural rule.
However, he said that in the spirit of goodwill, the Opposition had no objection to the bill being presented for its first reading despite the regulations.
The first reading of the Bill, which is just the reading out of the title, passed.
The proposed amendments follow weeks of political deadlock after the government and Opposition failed to agree on a nomination, which needs a two-thirds majority in Parliament for it to be accepted.
The government earlier this month tried to push through the nomination of Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera, but the Opposition voted against. It later also proposed Judge Myriam Hayman, but the PN did not agree either.
The Opposition also presented a list of names, including that of Judge Wenzu Mintoff, but Abela rejected the idea.
In a letter to the Cabinet which was made public last week, Mintoff said that Abela did not want him as Chief Justice as he did not want to be seen to be bowing to the Opposition.
Borg had expressed that he was open to the idea of an anti-deadlock mechanism, with the Prime Minister then responding that on Monday, the government would be presenting a bill to this effect. It remains to be seen whether they have the same idea of what the mechanism would look like.