European Court upholds complaint over Valletta building requisition

The European Court of Human Rights has upheld an application filed by two property owners and unanimously ruled that their rights had been breached when the Maltese government requisitioned their property 65 years ago.

The European Court heard how on September 4, 1941, a Valletta building in M. A.

Vassalli Street, owned by the late Joseph Camilleri, was requisitioned for government use and a forced lease of indefinite duration was imposed. The premises had been utilised by a number of different government departments and the owners received about Lm340 a year in rent.

Then, in March 1997, Mr Camilleri's heirs, Anna Fleri Soler and Herbert Camilleri, applied to the Civil Court arguing that the continuous requisition of their building amounted to a de facto expropriation.

The court rejected their claim and they appealed to the Constitutional Court which confirmed the first court's judgement.

The Constitutional Court reiterated that, since the applicants retained their right of ownership and were still receiving rent, the measure complained of could not be considered a de facto expropriation, but was aimed at controlling the use of property in the general interest.

So Mr Camilleri and Ms Fleri Soler, represented by lawyer Joseph Brincat, took their case to Strasbourg where they complained about the requisition of their building claiming it constituted a breach of their right to the peaceful enjoyment of property.

They also claimed Lm36,378 in respect to pecuniary damages for the occupation of their property since 1997, which was when they started constitutional proceedings in the Civil Court.

The European Court noted the low rent paid to the applicants, the minimal profit they could obtain from their building, the fact that their premises had been requisitioned for almost 65 years, and the restrictions on their rights as landlords.

Consequently, the court held that a disproportionate and excessive burden was imposed on them.

Furthermore, the applicants had been required to bear most of the financial costs of providing a working environment for government departments or for public offices that were performing their duties for the benefit of the community as a whole. It followed that the Maltese government had failed to strike the requisite fair balance between the general interests of the community and the protection of the applicants' fundamental rights.

The European Court, composed of President Nicolas Bratza and seven members, unanimously held that there had been a violation of the applicants' rights and ordered the government to pay them €5,625 in costs and expenses.

The court reserved the question of pecuniary or non-pecuniary damages in its entirety and invited the government to submit written observations on the matter within six months.