Today representatives of aditus, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, and Repubblika met with the Council of Europe’s Venice Commission as part of its consultation on the draft amendments to the Administrative Justice Act presented by the Maltese Government.
The consultation took place after the Venice Commission, in its 2018 opinion on Malta’s constitutional framework, had identified administrative tribunals as an area requiring stronger guarantees of independence from the executive. At the time, the Commission observed that a number of tribunals deciding on citizens’ rights and obligations did not enjoy the same protections of independence that apply to the courts.
This concern was also reiterated by the European Commission in all its annual Rule of Law reports from 2020 to the present, and reform of the tribunal system has become a key milestone required for the release of funds under the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF).
In 2025 the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, in J.B & Others v Malta, imposed general measures on the Maltese government requiring it to pass legislation ensuring the independence and impartiality of tribunals.
The organisations welcome the fact that the Government, after eight years of waiting, is finally attempting to address this matter. The draft proposes a more uniform system for the appointment, discipline, and ethics of members of administrative tribunals and includes several positive elements, including public calls for applications, clearer evaluation criteria, and better protections against arbitrary removal from office.
However, the organisations explained that the main problem with the draft is not the lack of reform, but the institutional model chosen for it.
The organisations argued that while, following the 2018 opinion, Malta strengthened the constitutional guarantees for judicial independence through reforms to the Commission for the Administration of Justice and to the processes for the appointment and discipline of judges, the present draft creates a separate system for administrative tribunals that remains closely tied to the executive.
Among the main points raised was the fact that the new commission responsible for appointments and discipline would be made up of a majority of Permanent Secretaries. The organisations noted that these are officials who form part of the State’s executive structure and who often head departments or ministries whose own decisions may be the subject of appeal before the tribunals.
The organisations also raised concerns about the fact that the commission’s Secretary would be appointed directly by the Minister, and about the lack of judicial participation in the appointment process.
The organisations argued that it would be more consistent with the spirit of the post-2018 constitutional reforms for responsibility over the appointment, ethics, and discipline of tribunal members to be entrusted to the Commission for the Administration of Justice, or to a specialised structure operating within it.
During the meeting, the organisations also raised the issue of the extensive use of retired judges and magistrates for administrative posts appointed through processes that remain influenced by the executive, as well as the structural conflicts that can arise when lawyers in private practice serve as tribunal members.
The organisations also noted that the draft was published by the Venice Commission on 19 June, and invited organisations were asked to submit their observations by 24 June. The organisations are not aware of any prior public consultation having taken place on these proposals, and had no opportunity to discuss them with the responsible Minister before being asked to give their views.
To contribute to the public debate, Repubblika is publishing on its website a discussion document analysing the Government’s proposals in detail in light of the Venice Commission’s 2018 opinion, the constitutional reforms that followed it, and European standards on the independence of bodies exercising judicial functions.
aditus, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation, and Repubblika remain of the view that the reform of administrative tribunals is necessary. However, in order to achieve the public trust required, the reform should reduce executive influence over the appointment and running of tribunals and build on the constitutional guarantees of independence that Malta itself adopted following the Venice Commission’s 2018 opinion.