Randon family file two constitutional cases

The Randon family yesterday filed two constitutional applications in the Civil Court against the Commissioner of Lands and the Attorney General over land they originally owned and which is now being used by the Malta Freeport.

One of the applications was also filed against the justice minister and the commission for the administration of justice for whatever interest they might have in the case.

The Randon family declared that on February 21, 1969 the Commissioner of Lands had informed their predecessors in title that he was going to acquire by title of outright purchase two portions of land of a total area of over 11 tumoli in the area of Benghajsa.

A sum of Lm1,702 as compensation was offered for the land, but the applicants' predecessors in title had refused it.

The Commissioner of Lands had not proceeded to the Land Arbitration Board for an order effecting the transfer of the property and the payment of the compensation but had transferred the land directly to Malta Freeport Corporation.

The land had been incorporated in the Freeport zone and had been developed by the corporation.

Applicants' predecessors in title had repeatedly called on the Commissioner of Lands to file the necessary proceedings before the Land Arbitration Board but no action was taken.

In 1996, applicants had requested the Civil Court to fix a short time limit within which the Commissioner of Lands had to file the necessary action. This action was decided in applicants' favour on February 4, 2000.

Applicants yesterday declared that although the Commissioner of Lands had filed proceedings before the Land Arbitration Board, the government had published its plan for the privatisation in whole or in part of the Freeport Corporation.

These plans included the grant to the private sector of the use and enjoyment of the structures constructed on the land originally expropriated from applicants.

Applicants declared that the expropriation had not taken place in the public interest for the privatisation scheme had rendered the original expropriation into a commercial speculation because the land was to be passed on to the private sector.

The government was also making large profits from this transaction.

Applicants also claimed that their right to access to the courts had been denied for the law governing expropriation only provided for judicial redress filed by the Commissioner of Lands.

They further claimed that their right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time had been violated and that the members of the Land Arbitration Board could not be considered as independent and impartial for they did not enjoy the guarantees of independence and impartiality in terms of the Constitution and the European Convention.

In their application, the applicants declared they were being deprived of just compensation for the land that had been expropriated.

They requested the court to grant them a remedy.

In the second application, the Randon family declared that their predecessors in title had been served with a judicial letter in February 1969 in terms of which another portion of their land in the vicinity of Benghajsa and measuring over 14 tumoli was to be expropriated under title of outright purchase.

The land was valued at the time at Lm3,225 but applicants' predecessors in title refused the offer of compensation made.

However, although applicants again obtained a judgement of the Civil Court ordering the Commissioner of Lands to file proceedings in the Land Arbitration Board the commissioner had failed to do so.

Applicants declared that the land had also been utilised by the Freeport Corporation and was to be privatised in terms of the recently published government plans.

They requested the court to declare that their fundamental human rights had been violated and to provide them with a remedy.

Dr John Attard Montalto and Dr Gianfranco Gauci signed the applications.