Updated 11.25am, adds judgment details
Former Infrastructure Malta boss Fredrick Azzopardi has been cleared of charges related to illegal works at Wied Qirda because a fine had already been paid in connection with the case and other charges were time-barred.
Payment of an administrative penalty over the works had extinguished the criminal action that was subsequently taken against Azzopardi, a court declared.
That was the crux of a judgment delivered on Thursday in proceedings against Azzopardi who was facing charges for breaching environment protection laws when ordering works to proceed at the protected site.
The case dates to 2019 when Infrastructure Malta workers defied a stop and compliance order issued by the Environment and Resources Authority, with those unauthorised works continuing until the end of January 2020.
Over two years later, Azzopardi was served notice of summons to face charges for failing to abide by that order, breaching environment protection laws, making a false or misleading or incorrect declaration and as a public officer, committing those acts which he was duty bound to prevent.
When testifying in the proceedings, ERA Enforcement Director Aimee Brincat had stated that the administrative penalty issued by the Authority against “Ing. Frederick Azzopardi Infrastructure Malta” and “Infrastructure Malta , Ing. Frederick Azzopardi” had been fully paid up.
The director also confirmed that there were no other pending dues and that for the authority the case was “completely closed”.
The prosecution argued that the penalty had been paid by IM and not by Azzopardi himself.
But the fact that the penalty was imposed against “Ing. Frederick Azzopardi Infrastructure Malta” or vice versa could only mean that ERA had claimed payment from IM and the accused alternatively not “cumulatively”, observed the court.
There was no evidence that ERA had issued another invoice, separate and distinct in respect of Azzopardi personally as IM official or IM alone.
The matter would have been different if a separate fine had been issued and evidence produced to show that it had not been paid.
But, in this case, the enforcement director had testified that there was no other pending penalty, nor had a breach of notice been issued over the Żebbuġ works.
Besides, there was confirmation that remedial works at the site had been completed to the satisfaction of the authority and no other action was to be taken.
Payment of that administrative fine served to extinguish the debt and it was irrelevant whether the debt was paid by IM or the accused in his personal capacity.
If the court were to uphold the prosecution’s argument, that would give rise to a situation where the authority would be paid twice and that would also go against the civil law rule on the extinction of obligations upon payment even by third parties.
Once that penalty had been settled before charges were pressed against Azzopardi and the illegal state had ceased to exist before the criminal action was even instituted, then that charge could not subsist.
The other charges were time-barred.
In light of such considerations, Magistrate Rachel Montebello cleared Azzopardi of all criminal liability.
Lawyers Stephen Tonna Lowell, Stefano Filletti, Rachel Powell and Ana Thomas were defence counsel.