Court rules Villa St Ignatius owner did not breach court order with demolition

Updated 4.25pm with PA reaction

The owner of Villa St Ignatius has been cleared of contempt of court after a judge ruled that heritage NGO Din L-Art Ħelwa had no legal standing to file proceedings against him and two other parties.

Madame Justice Joanne Vella Cuschieri found that developer Paul Joseph Gauci, architect Stephen Vancell and former Planning Authority enforcement director Mario Scicluna were not bound by a 2017 court order requiring repair works to a leaking roof. 

The order had been issued to the villa's previous owners and was not applicable to the three individuals named in the contempt proceedings. 

The case dates back to June 2017, when Madame Justice Anna Felice ordered the former owners of part of the 19th-century villa to carry out remedial works within 60 days, under the supervision of a court-appointed architect. 

The ruling was issued following complaints that water leaking from the property was seeping into the neighbour's garage. 

Sold and demolished

Soon after the ruling, the property was sold to developer Gauci, through his company E&G Developments Ltd.

Din L-Art Ħelwa then made a formal request for Villa St Ignatius to be scheduled as a protected building. Days later, parts of the building were demolished.

The NGO filed a court application arguing that the works carried out violated the June 2017 court order. DLĦ also alleged that Scicluna, then enforcement director at the Planning Authority, failed to intervene to stop the works.

Madame Justice Felice upheld the complaint and in April 2018, directed the Registrar of the Civil Courts to open contempt proceedings against Gauci, Vancell and Scicluna.

NGO could not act for neighbour

Those proceedings were later heard by Madame Justice Vella Cuschieri, who noted that none of the three parties had been involved in the original 2017 case, and therefore could not be held responsible for the obligations it imposed.

She also observed that since the NGO had not been involved in the original proceedings and had no authorisation to act on behalf of the neighbour whose property had been affected by the leaks.

The court concluded that there was no evidence showing the three respondents had disobeyed any court order, and dismissed the case, with costs imposed on Din L-Art Ħelwa.

PA: This was misuse of NGO platform

The Planning Authority welcomed the ruling and said the entire case was based on the "misuse of an NGO's platform to target individual public officers".

"Enforcement staff should not be held personally answerable for obligations imposed on private parties by court judgements," it said. "Our officers act in the public interest, following established procedures and regulations. Attempts to hold them personally liable for actions taken within their official capacity set a dangerous precedent and hinder effective planning enforcement." 

A storied building

Last year, the PA approved plans to redevelop Villa St Ignatius into a four-star hotel, despite not having decided on Din L-Art Ħelwa's earlier scheduling request. The PA's decision is currently under appeal with the Environmental and Planning Review Tribunal, which is set to pass a decision soon.

Located on Scicluna Street in St Julian's and Old College Street in Sliema, Villa St Ignatius once formed part of one of Malta's earliest Jesuit colleges. The property was mentioned as a landmark building as early as 1839.

Historians like Albert Ganado, Temi Zammit and Carmel Baldacchino have acclaimed the villa for its exceptional historic importance.