A civil court has declared that a lawsuit filed by Opposition Leader Adrian Delia to rescind the contract between the government and Vitals Global Healthcare, was a matter of great national importance.

The pronouncement was made by Mr Justice Silvio Meli, presiding over the case instituted by Dr Delia against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, the Attorney General, Malta Industrial Parks and VGH calling for the Karin Grech, St Luke’s and Gozo hospitals to be given back to the public because contract conditions had not been respected.

The Prime Minister, the AG and the Lands Authority had raised a preliminary plea claiming that the suit was inadmissible since it could only have been filed up to the date when the final deed was signed.  

However, Dr Delia’s lawyers had countered that this argument fell within the merits of the case and was not to be tackled as a preliminary plea.

When the case was called on Thursday morning, the court said that this case was one of “great importance” and therefore was not to be broken down into various preliminary stages which could, as in the majority of cases brought before the courts, be decided upon in one final judgment rather than piecemeal decisions on separate pleas.

Lawyers Edward Debono and Jason Azzopardi are counsel to Dr Delia.

Lawyer Victoria Buttigieg from the Office of the AG is counsel to the prime minister.
Lawyer Stefano Filletti is counsel to the Lands Authority.
Lawyer John Bonello is counsel to Malta Industrial Parks.
Lawyer Adrian Meli is counsel to VGH.