Sant wins Lm800 damages

Austin Gatt, Minister of Justice and Local Government, was yesterday ordered to pay Lm800 damages to opposition leader Alfred Sant in a judgment given by Mr Justice Giannino Caruana Demajo in the First Hall of the Civil Court.

Dr Sant filed his writ for damages against Dr Gatt and against Michael Caruana, deputy editor of the newspaper In-Nazzjon.

Plaintiff claimed he had been defamed by a speech made by Dr Gatt at the general council of the Nationalist Party on December 7, 1997.

The speech was reported in In-Nazzjon on December 8, 1997, and Dr Sant requested the court to condemn both defendants to pay him libel damages.

The court noted that in his speech Dr Gatt had mentioned a series of episodes with which Dr Sant had a connection while he was prime minister.

According to Dr Gatt, these episodes led him to conclude that Dr Sant was corrupt.

A report of this speech was published in In-Nazzjon on the following day, under the heading "Alfred Sant korrott - Austin Gatt".

Mr Justice Caruana Demajo noted that although defendants had pleaded that the speech and the newspaper report were fair comment on facts that were true, the ordinary reader would reach the conclusion that Dr Sant was personally corrupt.

Thus, Dr Gatt's plea that his comments were intended to prove that Dr Sant's policies were corrupt, could not be upheld by the court, for this distinction was not made by Dr Gatt in his speech.

The court, however, upheld Caruana's plea that the report of the speech was covered by journalistic privilege for it consisted in a precise coverage of a speech that was made at a public event.

In liquidating the damages, the court noted that Dr Gatt had publicly declared, after making his speech, that he had not intended to refer to Dr Sant in the latter's personal capacity.

Thus, the sum of Lm800 in damages for defamation was deemed to be sufficient by the court.

Dr Sant was ordered to pay Caruana's expenses insofar as these concerned the plea that the article was covered by privilege.

Dr Pawlu Lia was counsel to Dr Sant.

Dr Joseph Zammit Maempel was counsel to defendants.