Constitution of Malta

The current Constitution of Malta (Konstituzzjoni ta' Malta) was adopted as a legal order on 21 September 1964, and is the self-declared supreme law of the land. Therefore, any law or action in violation of the Constitution is null and void. Being a rigid constitution, it has a three-tier entrenchment basis in order for any amendments to take place. The Constitution has been amended twenty-four times, most recently in 2020 with the entrenchment that firstly, the chief justice from now on shall be appointed by a resolution of Parliament – the legislature is appointing the member of the Judiciary – the Chief Justice. This resolution has to be supported by the votes of at least two thirds of all those members who are eligible to vote. The constitution is typically called the Constitution of Malta and replaced the 1961 Constitution, dating from 24 October 1961. George Borg Olivier was its main instigator and negotiator. Under its 1964 constitution, Malta became a parliamentary democracy within the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II was sovereign of Malta, and a Governor-General exercised executive authority on her behalf, while the actual direction and control of the government and the nation's affairs were in the hands of the cabinet under the leadership of a Maltese Prime Minister, the leader of the party that wins a majority of parliamentary seats in a general election for the unicameral House of Representatives. On 13 December 1974, under the Labour government Dom Mintoff, the constitution was revised, and Malta became a republic within the Commonwealth, with executive authority vested in a Maltese President, who is appointed by Parliament and who in turn, appoints as Prime Minister. The President also nominally appoints, upon recommendation of the Prime Minister, the individual ministers to head each of the government departments. The cabinet is selected from among the members of the House of Representatives. The Constitution provides for general elections to be held at least every five years.