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The ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
came after Repubblika, an organisation which campaigns to
protect justice and the rule of law in Malta, challenged the
country's system of appointing judges in a national court.
That court then sought guidance from the Luxembourg-based CJEU
on whether the Maltese system complies with the EU's Charter of
Fundamental Rights and the CJEU set out the criteria to
guarantee judicial independence and impartiality.
The CJEU judges said it was not counter to EU law for a prime
minister to appoint members of the judiciary as long as an
independent body assessed candidates and gave an opinion.
The Maltese requirement that the prime minister must provide the
reasons for choosing a candidate not put forward by the
independent body was an additional safeguard, they said.
Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela welcomed the ruling.
"It demonstrates that our reforms have been recognised and our
judicial system has been effectively strengthened for the
benefit of our citizens," he said in a tweet.
Campaign group Repubblika said the government would not have
carried out the reforms if it had not brought the case in 2019.
"In fact, a week ago, for the first time, judges were nominated
for appointment without the government having anything to do
with their selection," Repubblika said.
The ruling, which came amid criticism of moves by fellow-EU
members Poland and Hungary to control judicial appointments,
noted EU states had committed to upholding the rule of law and
said they must not undermine the independence of the judiciary.
The CJEU last month backed the right of Polish judges applying
to join the country's Supreme Court to appeal against the
opinions of a body which reviews candidates, underlining a rift
over the rule of law between the country and the bloc.
The European Commission has long accused Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orban of undermining freedoms of courts, media,
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academics, as well as
of violating the law with his restrictive migration policies.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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