A court yesterday ordered the St Leonard’s Band Club of Kirkop to vacate its premises within three months, ruling that a 1955 requisition order had violated the owner’s fundamental human rights.

The court also awarded the owner €60,000 in compensation.

Madam Justice Anna Felice delivered her judgment following a constitutional application by Josephine Mary Vella against the Director of Social Accommodation, the Attorney General and the band club.

Ms Vella said premises she owned in Kirkop Square, Kirkop had been requisitioned in 1955 and were allocated to the band club. She never recognised the club as a tenant, saying she was paid Lm30 a year in compensation for the property that was taken from her.

She argued that the requisition violated her fundamental human right to the enjoyment of property because she had been deprived of property for a purpose that was not in the public interest. She also complained that she had been discriminated against.

The court found in favour of Ms Vella. It said that in order for a person to be validly deprived of his/her property it had to be established that the purpose for so doing was in the public interest.

Recent court judgments ruled that one could not speak of public interest unless it applied to the public as a whole. A band club was not in the interest of the public in general even though it had a social and cultural purpose.

The court also found that Ms Vella had been discriminated against because only her property had been expropriated even though there were other houses in Kirkop.

The court instructed the band club to vacate the premises and ordered defendants to pay Ms Vella €60,000 in compensation between them.