Position of the Leader of the Opposition in the Maltese Constitutional System

The subject of the article is the institution of the Maltese Leader of the Opposition. Using the institutional and legal method, the Author analyzes constitutional solutions (and, to a limited extent, their evolution since 1921), the practical use of provisions with reference to the political crisis of 2020 and recommendations for changing provisions that would enable the empowerment of the Opposition Leader and making the nominations to the most important organs of the Maltese state less partisan. As part of the summary, the Author points out: the relatively high level of detail in the solutions regarding the appointment of the Opposition Leader by the President, which, however, did not protect the Maltese system from the 2020 crisis; a very ineffective mechanism for appointing persons specified in the constitution with the participation of the Opposition Leader; a very limited catalog of matters in which the Opposition Leader participates in decision-making mechanisms.