President of Malta

The office of the president of Malta (Maltese: President ta' Malta) came into being on 13 December 1974, when Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. Queen Elizabeth II ceased to be head of state and Queen of Malta (Maltese: Reġina ta' Malta), and the last governor-general, Sir Anthony Mamo, became the first president of Malta.

A person shall not be qualified to be appointed president if:

• They are not a citizen of Malta;
• They hold or have held the office of chief justice or other judge of the Superior Courts;
• They are not eligible for appointment to or to act in any public office in accordance with articles 109, 118 and 120 of the Constitution.

Before assuming office the nominee must take the oath of office before the House of Representatives of Malta.

The oath reads: I, (name of nominee), solemnly swear/affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of President (perform the functions of the President) of Malta, and will, to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of Malta. (So help me God).

Whenever the office of president is:

1. Temporarily vacant; and

2. Until a new president is appointed; and

3. Whenever the holder of the office is absent from Malta, on vacation, or is for any reason unable to perform the functions conferred upon them by the Constitution, those functions are performed by an individual appointed by the prime minister, after consultation with the leader of the opposition. If such individual has not yet been appointed, the speaker of the House of Representatives performs the duties of the president.

Contrary to popular misconceptions[4] and unlike European continental jurisdictions the Constitution of Malta does not allow the incumbent president to extend his appointment in any circumstances including in the event that on the expiration of the five years from the date of appointment, a replacement is not appointed by the House of Representatives in accordance with the required two thirds majority. The Constitution even goes further to exclude the incumbent president from reappointment (the only office-holder to be burdened with such a restriction) in line with the republican model.

Hence, on the expiration of the five years from the date of appointment, the office of the president becomes automatically temporarily vacant and until a new president is appointed (if not so appointed because the required two-thirds majority is not achieved in Parliament) beforehand, an acting president would need to be appointed by the prime minister after consultation with the leader of opposition. Without such an appointment, the speaker of the House of Representatives automatically becomes the acting president.

This creates an anomaly in the Maltese constitutional system since without an anti-deadlock legislation in the Parliament of Malta to appoint a replacement, the incumbent Government of Malta which does not have the required two-thirds super-majority would be politically incentivised not to reach a compromise for a new appointment. Ultimately, the acting president under the Maltese constitutional system wields all the powers of a sitting president of Malta and is not restricted in any shape or form in terms of his legal authority. In fact, Malta already had an acting president from 1987 to 1989 and normal operations of the Maltese state were not impacted.

Among the powers of the president:

• The president promulgates laws.
• The president may dissolve the House of Representatives of Malta acting on the request of the prime minister of Malta or following the passage of a no confidence motion in the Government.
• The president names the prime minister with the president making his or her decision based on the situation within the Maltese parliament.
• The president names most members of constitutional bodies (with the assent of the prime minister).
• The president receives foreign ambassadors.
• The president may grant a pardon (but not an amnesty) to convicted criminals; the president can also lessen or suppress criminal sentences, acting on the advice of Cabinet or the minister delegated by Cabinet with such responsibility.
• The president is ex officio chairman of the Commission for the Administration of Justice of Malta.
• The president is ex officio head of the Maltese honours.
• The president is ex officio chairman of the Malta Community Chest Fund, a charitable non-governmental institution aimed to help philanthropic institutions and individuals. The president's spouse is the deputy chairperson.
• The president authorises recognition in Malta of honours, awards and decorations. No title of nobility, honour, award, decoration, membership or office may be used in Malta unless it is authorised by the president. The names of those persons so authorized are published in the Government Gazette.

The role of the president is detailed in a publication (in Maltese) called Il-Manwal tal-President tar-Repubblika written by former president Ugo Mifsud Bonnici.[5]

The official office of the president is the Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta. Other presidential residences include:

• San Anton Palace at Attard – official residence.
• Verdala Palace at Buskett – summer residence.

The presidents of Malta used the national flag as their presidential standard prior to 12 December 1998, when a proclamation established the presidential flag of Malta. The flag is flown on the president's official residences and offices and on all occasions at which they are present.[6]

The office of president shall become vacant:

• If the president resigns his/her office;
• On the expiration of five years from the date of the appointment to that office;
• If the holder of the office is removed from office by Resolution of not less than two-thirds of the House of Representatives of Malta on the ground of inability to perform the functions of their office (whether arising from infirmity of body or mind or any other cause) or misbehaviour;
• If the president dies in office.

The Constitution of Malta nominally does not accord any legislative veto powers to the president. In fact, the Constitution states that when a bill is presented to the president for assent, he shall without delay signify that he assents. The Constitution nominally therefore ensures that the legislative programme of a democratically elected Government of Malta is not shackled by a president without a democratic mandate. The Constitutional law creates this narrative that the president is distinguished from the individual office-holder and the office-holder should set aside his personal opinions in exercise of his/her duties as president. In practice, sitting presidents have nevertheless deviated from this duty and have in instances threatened to resign from their office if presented with certain bills for assent contrary to their personal opinions or have privately lobbied for changes.[7] Furthermore, in view that an incumbent Government of Malta which does not wield a two-thirds majority in Parliament would not be in a position to remove the president of Malta if he refuses to signify that he assents to a bill, the president may in practice be afforded a legislative veto. This would be a constitutional crisis as a president without a democratic mandate would effectively exercise higher political power than the democratically mandated Government of Malta. It would not be clear whether this anomaly would be subject to judicial review by the Courts of Constitutional Jurisdiction in Malta both because of the immunities of the president of Malta and also because of the judicial interest of the sitting Government of Malta in the matter.

• Prime Minister of Malta
• List of heads of state of Malta

• Official Website
• Maltese Honours System