Senglea Labour club property owners awarded €209,859 after appeal

The Constitutional Court has increased the compensation awarded to the owners of three Senglea properties used as a Labour Party club, ordering the State Advocate to pay €209,859 after rejecting an appeal against an earlier damages award.

The judgment concerns premises at 201 and 202 Victory Street and 10 St Julian Street, which have been occupied by the Labour Party as club premises for over 70 years.

The Padovani and Spiteri Maempel families, the owners of the properties, had successfully argued that the continued occupation of the properties violated their fundamental human rights.

In 2023, the owners had been awarded close to €156,000 in damages suffered on account that the premises' protected lease breached their fundamental rights. 

The annual rent was €109.15 for the properties on Victory Street and €37 for the third tenement on St Julian’s Street. 

Not only was the rent minimal, but the lessees had carried out structural alterations without the consent of the landlords and had even interconnected the properties in such a manner that it was now difficult to distinguish one from the other, the owners argued.

The rent was last paid in 2015. 

In its ruling on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court upheld a previous finding against the State Advocate, rejecting an appeal seeking to overturn the judgment.

The court ruled the State Advocate’s appeal was not justified and the owners' fundamental property rights had been breached.

The court also upheld a cross-appeal filed by the owners, increasing the compensation awarded from €155,920.57 to €209,859.

The owners said the ruling confirmed that the State had breached their rights through the continued occupation of the properties.

In a statement following the judgment, the owners said it was important for the public to be aware that "the State Advocate is paying damages for the occupation of party clubs against the interest of private owners".