Judge Professor David J. Attard has been re-appointed as UM Chancellor for a term of seven years by the President of Malta acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister given after he has consulted the Leader of the Opposition.

Judge Professor Attard was Pro-Chancellor of the University in 2006 and has been the UM Chancellor since 2011.

After graduating from the University of Malta with an LL.D, he pursued studies at the University of Oxford and graduated with a D.Phil. Judge Professor Attard was the founder Head of the Department of International Law at the Faculty of Laws. He also served as Director of the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI). He is a Visiting Professor at a number of renowned European universities, including Sorbonne-Paris and Oxford.

In 2004, Judge Professor Attard was awarded the French honour of Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Legion D’Honneur by the President of the French Republic, the National Order of Merit by the President of Malta in 2009, an Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2010 and the IMO International Maritime Prize in 2022.

On 4 April 2024, he was conferred with a doctorate in Legal Sciences (Honoris Causa) by the University of Messina—recognising his international contributions as a leading judge and academic in maritime law.

In 2011, he was elected Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and in 2018 he was unanimously re-elected by 165 States for another nine years. In 2023, he was elected to the UN Seabed Disputes Chamber.

The University extends its best wishes to the Chancellor for another term marked by excellence, dedication, and visionary leadership.