A group of NGOs hoped on Thursday that the government is not seeking to limit the public’s right to appeal by requiring excessively technical and legalistic grounds of objection.

In submissions to the current public consultation exercise relating to the automatic suspension of development permits during appeals, the NGOs noted that the discussion paper stated that appeals had to be “relative to objections which have already been submitted to the Planning Authority prior to the determination of the application".

They hoped that the government is not seeking to limit the public’s right to appeal by requiring excessively technical and legalistic grounds of objection, considering that the relative representation period is 30 days.

This, they said, gave the public limited time in which to engage planning and legal experts and to submit overly technical objections. 

Moreover, if new information relative to the application emerged after the objection was submitted, or if the application was subject to new developments of which the interested party was not aware, or for which there was no opportunity to object, the interested party would, essentially, be unable to submit an appeal based on the new grounds.

The NGOs insisted that the “proposal” needed to be clarified so that it did not result in a legislative amendment that reduced the public’s access to justice.

Appeals, they insisted, should not, in any way, be restricted to the grounds listed in a representation filed during the representation period.

The proposed provision of better parameters for the Tribunal to impose fines to deter and limit “frivolous and vexatious appeals” was also of concern since this could be very easily misused to restrict the right to appeal, the NGOs said

With regards to the suspension of works, they welcomed the proposal saying they had long called for the necessity to suspend the execution of permits while appeal proceedings were underway before the tribunal and the Court of Appeal.

However, they agreed that suspending works for just three months was too short a time for the appeal to be decided.

The NGOs agreed that the proposal to place a one month time-limit in case of an appeal, which the minister declared

• is of strategic significance or of national interest;
• related to any obligation ensuing from a European Union Act;
• affecting national security or affecting the interests of the Government

is absurd, unjust, and penalised appellants.

They also said they were greatly concerned with any restrictions placed on the right to appeal and reiterated that any attempt to reduce the public’s access to justice and review of administrative decisions would be strongly resisted.

The statement was signed by Moviment Graffitti, BirdLife, Ramblers’ Association, Friends of the Earth, Nature Trust, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, and Għawdix.