Talks on who should be Malta's next Chief Justice should continue immediately, Justice Minister Clifton Grima has told The Malta Independent.

Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti's term was meant to have ended in February earlier this year as he reached retirement age, but no agreement has been reached on his predecessor meaning that he has stayed on in an interim capacity.

The Government and Opposition must reach an agreement on who will be Chief Justice as filling the post requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament.  A vote for Judge Consuelo Scerri Herrera to take the post back in February did not obtain the necessary majority.

Asked whether there had been any progress on the matter, Grima said that he felt that the past weeks were not the ideal period for such discussions to take place given the situation that the country was going through.

Malta spent much of the summer attentively watching the marathon jury trial against Yorgen Fenech in connection with the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia.  Fenech was ultimately acquitted of all charges, though the prosecution has now appealed the verdict.

However, now Grima said that "it is a theme which must be solved today before tomorrow, so I think that discussions should continue immediately."

"There are several members of the judiciary who, in my opinion, have all the necessary qualities [to take up the post], and the most important thing now is that there is the necessary maturity from the political class so that we can reach a decision which results in a Chief Justice who has all the necessary qualities and to ensure that the process is a serene one," Grima told this newspaper.

He said that in the interim, he has every faith in Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti to continue to carry out his job as he is doing now.

Asked whether he feels there needs to be an anti-deadlock mechanism introduced for cases such as these, Grima said that the Prime Minister had already expressed himself on this and that he agrees.

Abela had said back in February when the Nationalist Party shot down the appointment of Scerri Herrera that the country "seriously needs" an anti-deadlock mechanism for situations such as this.

Grima said that this "is not a political matter, but a practical one."

He noted that the situation in the past was different than the one today, saying that prior to the government's extensive reforms the Prime Minister would choose one person or another to serve as a member of the judiciary or even as Chief Justice.

"Today the situation is different," he said.

"I find comfort in the fact that when there wasn't the need for a two-thirds majority, there was still always a solution, even when the current Prime Minister was involved," Grima added.

He said that in an ideal world, there wouldn't be the need to resort to an anti-deadlock mechanism, but added that if there is a situation where there isn't an agreement on a name that satisfies all the necessary aspirations, "then such a mechanism is important."

"But having said that, I believe that we can be mature enough to pull the same rope and find a name without the need for any such measure," Grima said.