Lawrence Mintoff has accused Robert Abela of being prejudiced against him in relation to the appointment of Chief Justice, according to a letter sent by the judge to Cabinet on Monday.MaltaToday reported that it had seen the five-page letter, which Mintoff sent to the Cabinet Secretary following a meeting at Auberge de Castille earlier this month to discuss the chief justice appointment.In the letter, Mintoff alleges that the Prime Minister indicated he would not nominate any of the four judges reportedly identified by the Opposition for the role. According to Mintoff, Abela argued that selecting any of those names would appear as though the government was “giving in” to the Opposition and could carry political consequences internally.Mintoff writes that he objected to what he described as partisan considerations influencing such a senior judicial appointment and claims the Prime Minister suggested leaving the decision until after the next general election.The judge also alleges that his age — he is 66 and due to retire in two years — was raised as a concern. Mintoff notes that former Chief Justice Joseph Azzopardi had a similar timeframe before retirement when appointed in 2018.Beyond political considerations, Mintoff outlines two previous episodes which he claims are the underlying reasons for the Prime Minister’s stance.The first relates to a civil case connected to the 2015 Paqpaqli charity event accident, during which Abela acted as a lawyer prior to becoming Prime Minister. Mintoff alleges that Abela applied pressure regarding the taxation of court expenses and made insinuations concerning the judge’s impartiality.The second episode concerns a 2021 biography of Dom Mintoff published by Labour’s publishing house SKS. Mintoff claims he asked Abela, in his capacity as Labour leader, to withdraw the publication over content referring to a deceased family member, but that the request was refused.In his letter, Mintoff asks that the Prime Minister abstain from participating in discussions or decisions related to the appointment of the next Chief Justice, citing what he describes as a conflict of interest.The letter was reportedly copied to Miriam Spiteri Debono, Deputy Prime Minister Ian Borg and Justice Minister Jonathan Attard.The Office of the Prime Minister has not yet publicly responded to the allegations.•