Former justice minister Edward Zammit Lewis, Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and retired judge Toni Abela are advocating equal pay for magistrates and judges. Chief Justice Chetcuti and Judge Emeritus Abela go further, suggesting that judges and magistrates could be merged into a single judicial body with no distinction in title. Edward Zammit Lewis. Will someone here say that a civil case or one in a family court is superior to an inquiry?” Zammit Lewis asked parliament on Monday. Zammit Lewis referred to Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti’s remarks in 2023, where he described the distinction in the judiciary as “false”.