French court drops case against maritime authority

The French Court of Appeal has dropped all proceedings initiated against the Malta Maritime Authority and its executive director Lino Vassallo in connection with the Erika disaster.

The Court of Appeal in Paris ruled yesterday that the MMA was an extension of the Maltese state and therefore the administration of the Malta Flag was covered by the states' "immunity of jurisdiction".

In December 1999, the Erika, a Maltese registered oil-tanker, sank off the coast of France, spilling 10,000 tonnes of oil in one of the worst environmental disasters. The toxic cargo coated the seabed and washed up on the coastline, prompting a long and expensive operation to get rid of the muck.

In a somewhat unexpected twist of events last September, Parisian inquiring magistrate Dominique de Talance held Mr Vassallo and the MMA personally responsible for "endangering the lives of others" and of having been "an accomplice in pollution".

There were no fewer than 76 plaintiffs claiming damages in the criminal proceedings. Whilst 74 of the parties refrained from indicating the exact extent of their claim at the start of proceedings, the French state and the League for the Protection of Birds filed a claim for €76 million and €14 million respectively, besides unquantified damages.

It was estimated that plaintiffs could have claimed damages of more than €1 billion.

Mr Vassallo and MMA chairman Marc Bonello appeared before the French judge last September. But the authority's lawyers maintained that the magistrate was violating Mr Vassallo's and Dr Bonello's state immunity, given that they were representing a Maltese government authority.

The two MMA officials sought recourse to the French Appeals Court, claiming that the magistrate had no jurisdiction over a foreign government or a state official exercising his normal duties.

When the magistrate still went ahead and summoned the two MMA officials to appear again last December, they were instructed not to do so, given that they were still awaiting the Appeals Court's ruling.

Their absence in court provoked the magistrate to threaten to issue a warrant of arrest against Mr Vassallo and Dr Bonello.

The legal counsel representing both Mr Vassallo and the MMA in France maintained that the authority had in fact abided by the established international regulations governing ship registration, adding that the French court had no jurisdiction to uphold or refute the local authority's decision.

The Court of Appeal of Paris appointed a sitting for May 10 during which further arguments were presented, based on the fact that the expert's report on which Ms de Talance relied had been declared inadmissible by the Supreme Court.

The court yesterday accepted the arguments of state immunity and decided in favour of the MMA and Mr Vassallo, stating that since they were acting on behalf of the Maltese state they should benefit from immunity of jurisdiction.

There is no right of appeal against this decision of the Court of Appeal. Interested plaintiffs may however file proceedings attacking the validity of the decision within five days.

Both Dr Bonello and Mr Vassallo expressed their satisfaction at the decision.

In a statement the MMA said: "Despite the general conviction that MMA's and Mr Vassallo's conduct were correct, responsible and professional - as was confirmed by the conclusions of various technical inquiries into the incident - the government acted strongly to protect the sovereignty of the state, its entities and their officials".

The MMA said it had always maintained that, according to international law, the French courts did not have the necessary jurisdiction to press charges.

The MMA and the Maltese authorities cooperated extensively with the French authorities in the investigation.

Dr Bonello and Mr Vassallo expressed their appreciation for the government's support, particularly from Communications Minister Censu Galea and Anthony Borg Barthet, who was Attorney General at the time.

The MMA and Mr Vassallo were assisted by Franco Vassallo of the legal firm Mamo TCV, together with his French colleagues Renard and Associates.

Since the incident, the Maltese government has been trying to rid itself of the tag that the Maltese maritime flag is one of convenience.

In December 2002, the European Commission requested member states to speed up and implement the maritime safety measures that were found necessary following the sinking of the Erika.