Land owners file case over expropriation

Francis Bezzina Wettinger, John Parnis England and WJ Parnis England Limited yesterday filed a constitutional application in the Civil Court claiming that their fundamental human rights had been violated by the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Lands.

Applicants claimed that in 1964 they were informed that some two tumoli of land belonging to them in Birkirkara was being expropriated for a public purpose.

The government had acquired the land by outright purchase, and applicants were informed that the compensation payable to them amounted to Lm220.

Applicants had refused this compensation, and in 1965 the Commissioner of Lands had requested the Land Arbitration Board to order applicants to transfer the land to the government by title of outright purchase.

On April 8, the board had ordered that applicants, as the land owners, were entitled to receive Lm1,231 compensation.

However, applicants submitted in yesterday's application that although the land had been expropriated for a public purpose, only part of the land had effectively been used for such purpose.

Part of the land had been used for the construction of the ring road of the university for its sport complex, while the remainder of the land was never utilised.

This, said applicants, was in violation of their fundamental human right to freedom from deprivation of property without due compensation.

They further added that their rights had also been violated by the undue delays in the proceedings before the Land Arbitration Board.

Applicants requested the court to decide that the retention by respondents of part of the land that had not been required for a public purpose was in violation of their fundamental human rights.

They also requested a declaration that the decision of the Land Arbitration Board whereby the land not utilised had been transferred to respondents was in violation of their rights.

Applicants requested the court to order the release of the land not utilised by respondents.

They further requested a declaration that their right to suitable compensation had been violated, and that delays in the proceedings before the board were in violation of their human rights.

They also requested the court to provide them with a remedy.

Dr Dominic Cassar, Dr Franco Vassallo, and Dr Edgar Depasquale signed the application.