Property owners awarded €25,800 in moral damages

The owners of property forming part of the Manoel Theatre Complex have been awarded more than €25,000 in damages by a court, which concluded after that their right to the enjoyment of their property had been violated.

Nicholas Jensen, Irene Bache, Agnes Gera de Petri Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq, Anna Maria Spiteri Debono, and Caren Preziosi had said that the expropriation of their property consisting in six tenements in Old Theatre Street, Valletta and three tenements in Old Bakery Street, Valletta was in violation of their rights to enjoyment of their property.

They claimed they had been discriminated against and that they had been denied their right to a fair hearing.

The court heard that in 1972 the government had taken the properties under title of possession and use.

Works were carried out on them in 1975. The owners had refused the compensation offered by the government and in 1976 proceedings were filed against the owners before the Land Arbitration Board for the compensation to be established.

The properties were now being managed by the Manoel Theatre managing committee and some were now held by the Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Miveda Co Ltd and Patrimonju Publishing Ltd.

The court noted that in 2007 the government had retracted the expropriation notices issued in 1972 and had declared that the properties were required under title of public dominion.

In a judgment today, Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef declared the case was one in a series of judicial proceedings the owners had filed against the government in respect of these properties.

The owners submitted that it was not true that the properties were required for a public purpose. They said the government had failed to make use of the properties for a long period and that in other cases the government had either acquired property by title of outright purchase or by title of public dominion.

This had not been the case with them, for the government had expropriated the property under title of possession and use.

Mr Justice Micallef said that when the properties had originally been expropriated this had been for the purpose of utilising them for cultural activities linked with the Manoel Theatre.

This purpose, said the court, fell within the definition of public interest. However, in this case some of the properties had subsequently been leased to third parties for commercial purposes.

The state was empowered to expropriate property for a public purpose but this right was not absolute for it was a limitation of the right of an individual to enjoy his or her property.

The court concluded that the owners had been deprived of the enjoyment of their property and that they had not been offered adequate compensation.

The owners’ claim of violation of their human rights was justified for the government had only offered them Lm133 per annum for the properties, the court said.

Mr Justice Micallef also found that the owners had been discriminated against.

In other similar cases, property owners had had their property expropriated under title of outright purchase or of public dominion. No explanation was forthcoming as to why the government had not acted in the same manner with these owners.

The court, however, dismissed the owners’ submission that their right to a fair hearing had been violated.

In conclusion it awarded the owners €25,800 in moral damages.