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John Cremona

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Chief Justice Emeritus J.J. Cremona

John Joseph Cremona KOM KM (6 January 1918 – 24 December 2020) was a Maltese civil servant. He was the Attorney General of Malta during independence talks in 1964 and helped draft the Constitution of Malta. He served as the chief justice of Malta from 1971 to 1981.[1] He assumed the functions of Head of State in an acting capacity several times, both as Governor-General and President.

Early life

Cremona was born in Xagħra, Gozo on 6 January 1918. He held four doctorates: a Dr. jur. from the University of Trieste,[2] an LL.D from the University of Malta, a PhD in law from the University of London, and a DLitt from Sapienza University of Rome. He did research in constitutional law at the London School of Economics and the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies of the University of London.[3]

In 1943, Cremona was called to the bar in Malta. He was a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Malta from 1948 to 1959, when he was promoted to Professor. In 1961, he became the Head of the department and a Member of the University Senate. Cremona also served as the Attorney General of Malta from 1957 to 1964, and became the Crown Advocate-General in 1964. In 1965, he was simultaneously appointed to three posts: judge of the Superior Courts of Malta, Vice-President of the Court of Appeals, and Vice-President of the Constitutional Court of Malta.[3] He served as the chief justice of Malta from 1971 to 1981.[4]

After Malta joined the Council of Europe in 1965, Cremona served as the country's first representative judge on the European Court of Human Rights from 1965 to 1992.[5] He was also the Vice President of the court from 1986 to 1992.[6]

Public service

Beginning with the Constitution of 1959, Malta was granted greater home rule prior to independence through the creation of local legislative bodies. Cremona was a member of the Executive Council (1959-1962) and the Consultative Council (1962-1964).[2]

He was one of the original drafters of the 1964 Constitution of Malta, and represented the Maltese government at the Malta Independence Conference in London in 1963.[3]

In 1986, he became the chairman of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).[2]

Honours

Cremona was a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.[3]

Among his decorations were Companion of the National Order of Merit (Malta), Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Knight of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem (United Kingdom), Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (France), Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (Vatican), Knight Grand Cross of the Constantinian Order,[2] and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (Italy).[7]

Personal life

Cremona was also a published poet. Both Cecil Day-Lewis and Queen Elizabeth II read his poems at public ceremonies.[8]

Cremona married Beatrice Crispo Barbaro (1927-2001) in 1949; they had two daughters and one son.[9]

Death

Cremona died at the age of 102 on Christmas Eve 2020.[8]

Partial bibliography

  • The Maltese Constitution and Constitutional History since 1813 (1st edition 1994,[10] 2nd edition 1997[11])
  • Malta and Britain: the early constitutions (1996) [12]

References

  1. ^ "Former Chief Justice John J. Cremona turns 101 - TVM News". TVM English. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  2. ^ a b c d "Cremona, John Joseph". The National Archives of Malta. 2002. Archived from the original on 5 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d 1965 Yearbook of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 1967. pp. 42–46.
  4. ^ "Former Chief Justices". judiciary.mt. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  5. ^ "Country Fact Sheets 1959 - 2010" (PDF). European Court of Human Rights. p. 36.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "The Situation before 1 November 1998" (PDF). The Conscience of Europe: 50 Years of the European Court of Human Rights. London: Third Millennium Publishing Limited. 2010. pp. 48–50. ISBN 978 1 906507 45 9.
  7. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". www.quirinale.it. Retrieved 2021-01-01.
  8. ^ a b "J.J. Cremona, chief justice emeritus who drafted Maltese Constitution, dies at 102". MaltaToday.com.mt. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  9. ^ "San Giorgio". santfournier.org. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
  10. ^ "Publications of President Dean Spielmann" (PDF). European Court of Human Rights. April 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Cremona, J. J. (1997). The Maltese constitution and constitutional history since 1813 (2nd ed.). San Gwann, Malta: Publishers Enterprises Group. ISBN 99909-0-086-8. OCLC 500000259.
  12. ^ Cremona, J. J. (1996). Malta and Britain: the early constitutions. San Gwann, Malta: Publishers Enterprises Group. ISBN 99909-0-071-X. OCLC 41090559.
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