Francesco Depasquale

Francesco Depasquale (born June 1970 in Attard) is a Maltese judge, since January 2023 president of the Council of Europe's European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ).

Biography Studies The son of Judge Franco Depasquale (who retired in 2003 ), Francesco Depasquale studied at Stella Maris College, Gżira. He attended the University of Malta, where he obtained a Diploma of Notary Public in 1993, andgraduated as Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1995.

Depasquale was an active member of Malta's Law Student’s Association (Għ.S.L.), helpedfound the Malta branch of the European Law Students' Association in 1991 and served as its general secretary and then president. In 1994 he was elected to the University Students’ Council (KSU).

In 2012 he was elected to the board of the Association of Judges and Magistrates of Malta. He initially served as general secretary, and was elected president in 2020. and called for more direct public communication efforts by the courts to help stave off political attacks on the judiciary.

In December 2022 Depasquale was elected president of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ) for a period of two years starting from January 2023. He was re-elected in December 2024 for two more years.

In February 2023, in the Vitals case (filed in 2018 by then Opposition leader Adrian Delia), Judge Depasquale handed down a strong ruling against the Maltese government, underlining its "amateurish" checks and lack of due diligence and annulling the privatisation deal.

In April 2024, Depasquale dismissed an injunction by BirdLife Malta aimed at preventing the opening of the spring hunting season for the turtle dove. According to Malta Today, "Depasquale argued as if he were an ornithologist representing the hunting lobby".

In February 2025, in a landmark decision for the European e-gaming and gambling sector (Felsberger case), Judge Depasquale ruled against the enforcement in Malta, based on EU Treaties, of Austrian court judgements ordering the refund of player losses, thus shielding Malta Gaming Authority-licensed operators. The ruling acknowledged the supremacy of EU Law over ordinary Maltese law, but not over the Maltese Constitution, since EU Law takes effect based on Malta's European Union Act 2003, and the Parliament is bound to legislate in line with the Constitution. The European Commission has since opened an infringement procedure against Malta for breach of EU Law.