The President would be granted the final say to appoint Malta's next chief justice in cases of parliamentary deadlock, under a new proposal outlined by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard.

The plan would see parliament first attempt to approve a nominee with a two-thirds majority. If this threshold is not met after successive votes, the final decision would rest with the head of state, based on the outcome of a simple majority vote.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Attard said discussions between the government and opposition have temporarily shifted away from selecting a specific candidate and are now focused on establishing an anti-deadlock mechanism. He described the talks as "cordial" and said that a constitutional amendment introducing the proposal has already passed its first reading in parliament, and ideally wants convergence with the PN on the proposal.

The minister said that the government's proposal mirrors, in part, the mechanism used for appointing the Standards Commissioner for Public Life, where a simple majority can ultimately suffice if a two-thirds majority cannot be achieved after multiple attempts. However, in this case, the President would retain discretion over whether to proceed with the appointment as a result of a simple majority vote.

Attard also indicated he would favour consulting the outgoing chief justice before initiating the process.

The government's approach differs from that previously proposed by the opposition Nationalist Party. The PN has proposed the creation of a high-level committee comprising the President and others to select a candidate if parliament remains deadlocked.

Malta is currently facing such a deadlock. Mark Chetcuti continued acting as chief justice after both sides failed to agree on a successor capable of securing the required two-thirds parliamentary approval.

This marks the first time that the appointment of a chief justice requires a two-thirds majority, following recent legal reforms.