Government issues call for applications for State Advocate post

A call for applications for the post of State Advocate has officially been released by the Ministry for Justice, Culture, and Local Governments.

In a government notice published in the Government Gazette released on 1 October, the Office of the Permanent Secretary announced that applications for the position of State Advocate were being received.

“The selected candidate will be employed on a full-time basis and will be required to head the State Advocate Office,” the notice reads.

“Applicants must be in possession of an LL.D. degree having twelve years legal experience covered by a warrant, and a minimum of five years experience of working in a government organisation,” the notice says.

The notice reads that applicants have until 15 October to submit their letter of application and a detailed Curriculum Vitae.

The role of State Advocate is a split off from the Attorney General’s Office and comes after a demand made by the Venice Commission in its appraisal of Malta’s rule of law. The State Advocate will take over from the Attorney General as the government’s legal consultant.

The process to appoint a State Advocate kicked off on 29 July when the Justice Ministry published a legal notice “enabling the execution of the process for the appointment of a State Advocate”.

The controversial State Advocate Act stipulates that when there is a vacancy in the office of State Advocate, the minister responsible (in this case Justice Minister Owen Bonnici) is to appoint a commission consisting of a Chairperson and not less than two and not more than four members to be composed of persons, “who in his opinion are respected and trusted by the public and are technically qualified to examine whether candidates for the office of State Advocate have the appropriate qualifications and other merit and suitability requirements to occupy the said office”.

The Appointment Commission then issues a public call for applications – as has now been issued – which is open to persons who have the necessary qualifications and experience, after which it will examine the candidates and submit a report to the Prime Minister through the Justice Minister wherein they will give their views on the eligibility, suitability and merit of the candidates.

The law then lays out that, “In deciding upon his recommendation to the President in terms of article 91A of the Constitution for the appointment of the State Advocate, the Prime Minister shall give due consideration to the recommendations of the Appointment Commission.”

The creation of the role of State Advocate was approved by Parliament before rising for the summer recess, but it has attracted criticism from certain quarters, with the Opposition lamenting that the Prime Minister still had the ultimate say over who is appointed to the role, and former Dean of the Faculty of Laws Kevin Aquilina describing the Bill as “yet another classic example of how legislation should never be drafted” and as a “parody of the December 2018 Venice Commission report.“

The government has however remained adamant that the Bill was never meant to address and implement all of the Venice Commission’s proposals at once, and that other legislative Bills will follow in the coming months.