National Bank shareholders may have a few more years to wait before receiving compensation for their lost assets despite last week’s court ruling that their human rights were breached.

Owen Bonnici, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, would not say, when asked, whether the government would now enter a new round of negotiations for an out-of-court settlement.

“The government wishes to clarify that the judgement delivered was a judgement that only decided part of the case and this means that the government may either seek leave to appeal at this stage or it may consider appealing later when the final decision is given,” Dr Bonnici said.

The former government had offered €20m for the former shareholders but the court case continued after they demanded twice the amount.

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