The arraignment of four persons in connection with the fatal collapse of a house in Hamrun last March was a clear demonstration of how new regulations have increasingly complicated and confused lines of responsibility, the Chamber of Architects said on Thursday.

"Indeed, the court will now have to establish the responsibilities of four different roles, including the site technical officer, a role which did not exist before. Inevitably, defence lawyers will thrive in this weak regulatory framework," the chamber said.

Two architects, a contractor and a construction worker were charged on Wednesday with the involuntary homicide of Miriam Pace, who died following the collapse of her home One of the architects served as site technical officer. 

The Kamra tal-Periti also said that it was perplexed by a statement issued by the Malta Developers’ Association that the new regulations introduced last summer provided “clear parameters to determine who was responsible for such incidents”.

"It appears that this was the primary focus of the MDA, rather than ensuring public safety, which has always been the paramount concern of the Kamra," the chamber said. 

The chamber said it agreed with a statement which Marthese Portelli, now director-general of MDA, had made at the time the regulations were published, wherein she characterised the regulations as “rushed decision-making [which] has set nobody’s mind at ease”.

The chamber said it looked forward to the implementation of its building and construction regulation framework, which the government had committed to start implementing as from October 2019. This framework was endorsed by all the relevant stakeholders and presented to the Committee of Experts appointed recently by the prime minister.

"Its implementation will ensure that the construction industry will finally modernise itself and be brought in line with practices adopted in developed countries," the chamber said.