MALTA, 23 October 2025 – Malta welcomed the President of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Judge Mattias Guyomar, to Valletta for his first official visit to the country. Over the course of a two-day programme, President Guyomar met with senior government officials and members of the judiciary to discuss shared priorities in strengthening justice systems and safeguarding human rights.
On Wednesday, President Guyomar addressed participants at the launch of the Council of Europe Thematic Seminar and HELP Course on the Quality of Justice. In his remarks, he underscored the pivotal role of national judges in upholding human rights, noting that judicial independence must be matched by responsibility, transparency and public trust. He also outlined the key priorities of his presidency—efficiency, visibility and accountability—while անդրaddressing the Court’s growing caseload and the increasing relevance of artificial intelligence in comparative legal analysis.
The programme continued with a working lunch with the CEPEJ Bureau and Working Group Presidents, where discussions centred on strengthening cooperation between the ECtHR and CEPEJ to promote more efficient and accessible justice systems. Later that afternoon, in an address titled “Judges as Guardians of Democracy”, President Guyomar stressed that judges act as interpreters, not makers, of the law, guided by integrity and judicial pragmatism.
On the final day, President Guyomar opened and participated in the High-Level Conference on Safeguarding the Best Interests of the Child, further underlining the Court’s commitment to protecting fundamental rights and advancing child-centred justice.