Government bill on changes in appointment of judiciary 'at an advanced stage'

The government will soon be presenting Cabinet with a bill on the appointment of the judiciary, which was at an advanced stage, Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said as he appealed to the Opposition, which earlier said it would be moving a private member’s bill by the end of the week, to be cautious. Replying to questions following a statement he made in Parliament on the nomination of two magistrates last week, Dr Bonnici said caution should be exercised as a proposal by the Chamber of Advocates today was already substantially different from what Giovanni Bonello had proposed. Dr Bonnici said that one should thread carefully and not render the judiciary as something lawyers would not want to go in for If the Opposition wanted, he said, he could show them the bill he had prepared and share opinions.  Is @OwenBonnici ready to stop all new appointments to the judicary immediately until our reform bill is adopted? That's the bottom line. — Simon Busuttil (@SimonBusuttil) February 9, 2016 Earlier, Opposition leader Simon Busuttil had said that the Opposition would, later this week, table a private members bill proposing a radical change in the way the judiciary is appointed. Dr...