Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti has told the Government and the Opposition that he will remain in post until Parliament chooses his successor, urging them to find a "just path" and a solution that shows maturity, and saying the way the matter had been handled hurt him personally.
Speaking at the inaugural sitting for the opening of the 2026-2027 forensic year, held in Courtroom 22 of the Criminal Court on Thursday, Chetcuti put his message plainly: "Rest assured that until you choose, I will remain here."
Chetcuti was supposed to have retired last February, but the government and Opposition did not agree on his successor. A two-thirds majority in Parliament is required for the post to be filled. Chetcuti has since stayed on, with the May election further delaying the appointment of his replacement. Justice Minister Clifton Grima told The Malta Independent this week that talks between the two sides of the House "should continue immediately".
The sitting was attended by President Myriam Spiteri Debono, Prime Minister Robert Abela, Opposition leader Alex Borg, Justice Minister Clifton Grima, Speaker Carmelo Abela and Archbishop Charles Scicluna, who had earlier led a Mass at St John's Co-Cathedral as part of the occasion.
Chetcuti said that, whatever the Constitution provides, the way the question of the Chief Justice and his succession had been handled was not a good one. He described the situation as unpleasant and said it had hurt him on a personal level, particularly given the sensitivity of the office he holds. He stressed he was not staying under duress, but that the Constitution obliged him to continue until Parliament selected a successor.
His own appointment had surprised everyone, himself most of all, and he had never sought the position, he said. He disclosed that he had met Abela and told him that, in the circumstances that had developed, it would not be dignified for him to remain in the post. According to Chetcuti, the Prime Minister replied that it was his duty to the Republic to stay on.
Addressing Dr Abela and Mr Borg directly, he appealed to them to find a "just path" and a prudent solution that reflected justice and served the judiciary and the people, one that showed maturity and was reached "without compromises". He added: "I believe that when we pull one rope we get positive results, but when everyone pulls for themselves we have a problem and a crisis." The person chosen, he said, must reflect dignity, independence and humility, and understand their role towards society.
Chetcuti opened his address by saying the presence of those gathered showed respect for the judiciary and gave courage to those working within it. "Every beginning has its end," he said, jokingly recalling that a year ago he had thought it would be the last time he opened the forensic year as Chief Justice. "It was not to be," he said.
His remarks on the succession were among the main points of a speech in which he also made a series of calls for change in how justice works in Malta. He said the reforms carried out so far showed the courts were progressing, and credited the Government with backing them, calling this a clear step towards strengthening democracy. Much remained to be done, however, in infrastructure and buildings as well as in human resources and working conditions. Improved court buildings were welcome, he said, but the people working inside them needed the resources to match. He spoke of the need for adequate buildings and decent pay capable of attracting quality people to the judicial system.
He congratulated the two new judges who took the oath this week, Leonard Caruana and Elaine Rizzo, saying they had not been appointed simply to increase the number of judges but so that existing work could be better distributed, and that they replaced two judges who had left.
He singled out the Criminal Court as a particular problem, saying the four judges currently sitting were not enough to cope with the workload. Acknowledging that progress had been made in the court registry, he warned that this was not enough. "Structures on their own do not make miracles," he said, calling for more judges and for at least two more in the Criminal Court. He also said the Criminal Code needed updating so that judges could better reflect present-day realities.
Chetcuti also addressed vacant administrative posts in the courts. He proposed that the Government issue a call aimed at law graduates so that they could fill those posts, saying an efficient judicial system depended not only on the number of judges and magistrates but on the whole administrative structure that allowed them to work. He said law students with administrative skills should be placed where their knowledge could be used, and that fewer students wanted to practise in court. Addressing magistrates who had voiced concern, he said more young people should study forensic science so that experts could be found faster and cases resolved more efficiently.
Court delays, he said, remained a "plague", and further changes were needed to ease the burden on the courts. Not every case should necessarily fall to magistrates, he said, pointing to district cases and traffic-related contraventions. These, he said, could be spread out locally and heard by experienced lawyers in dedicated tribunals across Malta and Gozo, close to communities. In his view, this would free magistrates to devote more time to more important and complex work, including corruption cases, drug trafficking and other criminal matters. The backlog must be cut, he said, through a collective effort and procedures that were the same for everyone. He also raised the need for constitutional amendments on contempt of court.
Chetcuti said security in the courtrooms had been stepped up in recent months after incidents inside the court building, and that aggressive incidents inside and outside the courts called for better protection because they affected how the public viewed the judiciary. He linked the issue to how the judiciary treated the public, saying it must show humility towards those who come to court and be ready to accept constructive criticism. There was, however, a difference between legitimate criticism and "unfounded attacks" meant to erode trust in the judiciary, he said. He told the sitting that the judiciary bore the weight of society's sensitivities, and did not have the privilege of avoiding what it did not want to carry. He also referred to the work of the Commissioner for Standards in the Judiciary over the past year, saying he was carrying out his role well.
On domestic violence, he said not every allegation necessarily led to court proceedings, remarking that some cases eventually collapsed or were not suitable to be handled before the court in the current way. He asked Parliament to look at the problem "urgently". Victims needed better help, he said, warning that the volume of cases meant urgent ones could be lost among others that did not qualify as domestic violence.
On the Family Court, he said reforms had been introduced but more was needed to make the process smoother. Discipline had to come from everyone involved, from mediators to lawyers, and the priority should be that people did not suffer because of spite between the parties. He called for more support staff to assist the judge in running the courts and for in-house experts to interpret cases, saying family cases could not be thrown "in one basket".
Chetcuti also spoke about the administrative burden of his own office. Part of the Chief Justice's duties, he explained, was to keep constantly informed of what was happening in the courts and their administration, on top of conferences and other obligations. He said he was trying to keep up with all of this and wanted the Chief Justice to be given more help in these responsibilities.
His address was preceded by an intervention from Chamber of Advocates president Louis de Gabriele, who put the long-delayed reform of the regulation of the legal profession at the forefront of his speech. He urged Parliament to pass the Act regulating the legal profession, which he said had been discussed, refined and agreed between the Chamber and the Government over the years but "has not yet seen the light of the House of Representatives". The Chamber, he said, had been insisting since at least 2008 that the regulatory framework was outdated.
De Gabriele said the opening of the forensic year should be more than a symbolic ceremony, and an opportunity for those involved in the justice system to stop and reflect honestly on where they stand, where they have gone wrong and where they must get to. Recalling that when he became a lawyer almost four decades ago the profession was far smaller and its members mostly knew each other, he said informal conventions could then help to uphold discipline, integrity and mutual respect. Today, he said, the profession had grown to more than 2,000 lawyers working in fields including financial services, the corporate sector, consultancy and the courts, and it had lost much of its former homogeneity. The informal system of regulation was no longer enough for present-day realities.
He acknowledged that the profession had suffered a deterioration in standards and values, and that cases of unsuitable professional conduct harmed not only the individuals involved but the public perception of the whole profession. He argued for a more formal regulatory system, independent of the Government and supervised by a constitutional regulatory body with adequate resources, real authority and accountability. Citing the European Commission's Rule of Law Report, he said the lack of a modern law for the profession was not merely a technical problem but a failing that went to the foundations of the judicial system, since magistrates, judges and the lawyers of the future all come from the legal profession. If entry requirements were not rigorous enough, continuing training was not mandatory and disciplinary mechanisms stayed weak, the consequences would be felt across the system, he said.
Dr de Gabriele said the Chamber had carried out studies and consultations, made compromises and shown patience for years, and that it was now up to the political authorities to act. He asked why the State had found the time and resources to modernise the regulatory framework of professions such as architects, doctors, accountants and engineers, but not that of the legal profession. This was not a rhetorical question, he said, and deserved a "clear, substantive and convincing answer".
He set out the Chamber's vision for the next three years, built on four pillars. The first is education and professional training, with a stronger link between university studies, pupillage, structured practice and the warrant exam, and with the Malta Law Academy developed as a centre of professional excellence. The second is technology: artificial intelligence and digitalisation were already changing the profession radically and irreversibly, he said, and the Chamber wanted an ambitious role, both in talks on the digitalisation of the courts and in ensuring that lawyers working alone or in small firms were not left behind. The third is regulation beyond the Act itself, including collective professional indemnity insurance, a system of limited liability suited to modern practice and the possibility of lawyers practising through limited liability structures. The fourth concerns the Chamber's own role towards its members, including those in the courts, the corporate and financial sectors and young lawyers, and towards the public.
On court delays, which he said had dominated every debate on justice for many years, Dr de Gabriele acknowledged that progress had been made in timelines but said the time had come for "more serious and lasting" solutions. The judiciary and the legal profession could not keep carrying the weight of a system never designed to handle the volume, complexity and diversity of cases in 2026, he said. He rejected the idea that the same problems could be discussed for another ten years, or that reforms should be merely "cosmetic" so that statistics looked better. The fundamental principles of justice remained sacrosanct, he said, but the tools and processes through which they were applied had to change radically. "Change is not a choice - it is inevitable," he said.
He called on the Government to set up a joint commission to study and make recommendations for a full reform of the laws of procedure and court processes, saying the Chamber was ready to contribute fully. He also named the system for appointing the Chief Justice, the length of judicial proceedings and the resources given to the Commission for the Administration of Justice and the Committee for Advocates and Legal Procurators among the rule of law issues to be addressed. These were not merely academic or constitutional questions, he said, but directly affected every citizen seeking justice and every business wanting to invest in Malta with confidence that its rights would be protected within a reasonable time. The Chamber would not stay silent and would keep taking part in the debate with both the Government and European institutions, he said. He ended by saying the Maltese legal profession had the talent, tradition and moral fibre to meet its challenges, and that what was needed now was the collective will to turn intentions into action.
The president of the Chamber of Legal Procurators, Gerald Bonello, focused on the need for more efficiency in the system so that the public could have greater trust in justice. He said positive developments, including the increase in the number of members of the judiciary, should be recognised, but important problems remained. These included the notification process before a case can move forward, which he described as lengthy and complex and capable of causing delays even before the court begins hearing the merits. He said the courts could not be expected to hear more cases while such obstacles stood in the way, and that the judiciary needed to grow.