About the Commission
The Public Service Commission, or the PSC as it is commonly known, is an independent statutory body established in terms of article 109 of the Constitution of Malta. The Constitution assigns to the Commission responsibility for staffing and discipline in the Public Service.
The Commission consists of a chairman, a deputy chairman and from one to three other members who are appointed by the President of Malta acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, given after consultation with the Leader of the Opposition.
The Commission is assisted by its Executive Secretary, who is the Head of the Office of the Commission and leads the team of public officers within this Office.
The Commission meets weekly, generally on Thursdays. Routine business is conducted in advance of the meeting by circulation of files. During the meetings the Commission focuses on policy issues, objections to selection results on the part of applicants for vacancies, disciplinary cases and other issues where a ruling from the Commission is required. Meetings may also include oral hearings, particularly with regard to disciplinary cases.
Further information on the membership of the Commission and the staff of the Secretariat, may be accessed through the following links:
History of the Commission
The PSC was first established by the 1939 Constitution during British colonial rule with the purpose of giving advice to the Governor on matters relating to employment in the Public Service. In 1939, the concept of appointing a commission to advise on Public Service matters was in line with political developments in other British colonies at the time. At first, the Governor had the right to appoint persons in the Public Service of Malta to serve on the Commission. Later, however, there was the belief that the Commission would be more likely to ensure fairness in decision making if its members were not themselves Public Service employees.
In 1945 a National Assembly was convened to draw up a new constitution which was to provide for the restoration of self-government. The Assembly did not regard the retention of the Commission, as a body reporting to the Governor, as compatible with this end, and voted against retaining the Public Service Commission. Subsequently, Malta’s 1947 Constitution made no provision for the Public Service Commission. However, the Commission as established under the 1939 Constitution continued to function on an administrative basis.
The 1959 Constitution, which succeeded that of 1947, again provided for the establishment of a Public Service Commission and assumed its present day form as an independent body external to the Government, with the power of making binding recommendations on appointments and discipline in the Public Service.
The Commission was formally established in August 1960 by means of Legal Notice number 32. Its role was placed on a more formal footing with the enactment of the 1960 PSC Regulations, and was subsequently entrenched in the Constitution of Malta.
The Commission has functioned continuously since then.
Our Mission
To ensure, through ongoing monitoring and scrutiny, the provision of excellent public services in a delegated
environment through an efficient public appointment process which upholds the principles of merit and equity, and the
exercise of just and efficient disciplinary procedures in the public service.
Membership of the Commission
Functions - Role & Delegation of Certain Powers
Role
The fundamental role of the Public Service Commission is to ensure that Malta retains a career Public Service with a high standard of competence, efficiency and integrity. In fulfilling its role, the Commission is guided by the principles of merit, equality of opportunity, impartiality, non-discrimination, transparency, the exclusion of patronage (political or otherwise) in the exercise of discipline, and fair and open competition in the making of appointments. The removal of employees from public office and the exercise of discipline over public officers also fall within the remit of the Public Service Commission.
Article 110 of the Constitution of Malta provides that power to make appointments to public offices and to remove persons holding or acting in any such offices lies on the Prime Minister, acting on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission. However, the same article also provides that the Prime Minister, acting on the recommendation of the Public Service Commission, may delegate in writing any of the aforementioned powers to such public officer or other authority as may be specified in the Instrument of Delegation.
Throughout the years several Instruments of Delegation have come into force, delegating certain powers to Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Department. For more information about delegation of powers refer to the page Delegation of Certain Powers.
Future Reference:
- Directive 9 (Note: For the latest version of the Manual on the Selection and Appointment Process under Delegated Authority click on the link below)
- Manual on the Selection and Appointment Process under Delegated Authority in the Malta Public Service
- List of Updates on the Manual
- Disciplinary Procedure
LIST OF CHAIRPERSONS
Public Service Commission Chairpersons
- Mr L H Gorsuch, CBE
05.08.1960 – 31.10.1963 - Judge W D Harding, CBE, KM, BLitt, LL.D
05.11.1963 – 04.11.1971 - Dr G Zammit, BA, BA (Hons) Lond, BD (Rome), LL.D
05.11.1971 – 31.10.1977 - Dr C Cassar, MD, MRCGP, PhC, KM, CStJ
20.01.1978 – 19.01.1980 - Mr C Giuliano
20.01.1980 – 31.12.1981 - Mr G Craig
12.01.1982 – 25.02.1984 - Mr M J V Bonello
01.04.1984 – 08.08.1986 - Mr P V Attard
01.09.1986 – 11.08.1987 - Dr A G Camilleri, BA, LL.D
12.08.1987 – 11.08.1992 - Prof E Borg Costanzi, BSc, BE&A, A&CE, MA (Oxon)
12.08.1992 – 11.05.1996
- Mr M J V Bonello
01.04.1984 – 08.08.1986 - Mr P V Attard
01.09.1986 – 11.08.1987 - Dr A G Camilleri, BA, LL.D
12.08.1987 – 11.08.1992 - Prof E Borg Costanzi, BSc, BE&A, A&CE, MA (Oxon)
12.08.1992 – 11.05.1996 - Mr A Galdes, MOM, BA (Hons)(Econ), FCIB
12.05.1996 – 28.02.1997 - Mr J J M Curmi, MPA, DPA, FIFD
12.05.1997 – 11.06.2003 - Mr A Fiorini Lowell
12.06.2003 – 11.06.2010 - Mr P A Attard, Dip Educ (Admin & Mgt)
12.06.2010 – 17.06.2013 - Mr L P Naudi
18.06.2013 – 17.07.2022 - Mr S Cachia
18.07.2022-
Membership of the Commission
Mr Saviour Cachia
Chairman, Public Service Commission (appointed as from 18 July 2022)
Ms. Marie Lourdes Grech
Deputy Chairperson, Public Service Commission (appointed as from 18 July 2016)
Marie-Lourdes Grech is a former public officer. During her long career in the Malta Public Service, she served in a number of offices, including a brief period at the House of Representatives and a four-year term at the Embassy of Malta in Brussels. She spent 37 years in the Office of the Prime Minister, occupying various posts in different offices, including the Establishment Division, Staff Development Organisation, the Operations and Programme Implementation Directorate and others. She retired from the Public Service in May 2016, in the position of Director General at the Cabinet Office.
Marie Lourdes Grech was re-appointed as Deputy Chairperson of the Public Service Commission as from 18th July 2022.
Mr. Vincent Piccinino
Member, Public Service Commission (re-appointed as from 18 July 2016)
Vincent Piccinino is a retired public officer. Following a two-year course at St Michael’s Teachers’ Training College, he was appointed Teacher in 1969 but chose to take up a career within the Civil Service after obtaining a BA (Hons) degree in Public Administration from the University of Malta in 1983. Mr Piccinino spent over twenty-three years at the Office of the Prime Minister and, between 1996 and 1998, he also served as Private Secretary to the Prime Minister. In 2002, Mr Piccinino was appointed Director (Finance and Administration) at the Education Division, from where he was superannuated in 2006 on reaching retirement age.
Vincent Piccinino was re-appointed as a member of the Public Service Commission as from 18th July 2022.
Mr. Carmel Herrera
Member, Public Service Commission (re-appointed as from 18 July 2016)
Carmel Herrera joined the Malta Civil Service in September 1968 and retired from the Public Service in August 2011. Between 1972 and 1990, he served at the Department of Social Services from where he moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There, he served both at the Bilateral Affairs and Multilateral Affairs Directorate and was Deputy Director of Protocol before moving to the Ministry of Health. He also served at the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs only to return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2008.
He served overseas at the High Commission in Canberra and at the Consulate in Sydney as Consul General. He also served at the Embassy of Malta in The Hague, the Netherlands, spending the last seven months of his career as Charge’ d’Affaires.
He served overseas at the High Commission in Canberra and at the Consulate in Sydney as Consul General. He also served at the Embassy of Malta in The Hague, the Netherlands, spending the last
seven months of his career as Charge’ d’Affaires.
Carmel Herrera was re-appointed as a member of the Public Service Commission on 18 July 2022.
Mr. Franco Masini
Member, Public Service Commission (re-appointed as from 18 July 2016)
Franco Masini, born in Victoria Gozo, was educated at St Aloysius’ College and the University of Malta where he read Arts (History, Economics and Maltese) and Law (Legal Procurator). He served in senior management and administrative positions in the private sector. He was active in organised business occupying the post of President of the Federation of Industries, the Malta International Fair and the Malta Employers Association. He served on the board of directors of several major public companies including Air Malta plc, Bank of Valletta plc, APS Bank Ltd, Gozo Channel Co. Ltd and companies of the Farsons Group. He is a past member of the Broadcasting Authority, the Council of the University of Malta and, the Malta Council for Social and Economic Development. In 2002, the President of Malta awarded him the Medal for Service to the Republic (MQR) for “exceptional service to Malta”.
Mr Masini had already served as a member of the Public Service Commission between 1996 and 1997.
Franco Masini was re-appointed as a member of the Public Service Commission on 18 July 2022.
Contact Us
Contact Information
Address
The Public Service Commission
Level 2, Palazzo Spinola
Business Centre
46, St Christopher Street,
Valletta, VLT 1464
Malta
Telephone