Land expropriated for freeport development violated family's human rights - European Court
The European Court of Human Rights has ruled in favour of the Frendo Randon family and concluded that the expropriation of their land for the development of the Malta Freeport was in violation of their human rights as the family had been deprived of access to the courts.
Forty-six members of the Frendo Randon family claimed a violation of their right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time and a violation of their right to peaceful possession of their property.
The European Court heard that the family owned four plots of land and that the land had been subject to a requisition order in 1969.
The family had refused the compensation offered for the land and although the Commissioner of Lands was required at law to institute proceedings before the Land Arbitration Board he had failed to do so.
In the 1990s, following changes to the law, the family was entitled to file a request before the ordinary courts requesting a time limit within which the commission had to institute proceedings before the board.
After the family's request, the Civil Court ordered the commissioner to file proceedings before the board within three months from February 4, 2000.
The commissioner had filed these proceedings only in respect of two of the four plots of land.
It resulted that only one of the four plots of land was being fully utilised for the Freeport. Two of the plots were outside the Freeport zone.
In October 2008, the First Hall of the Civil Court had delivered a constitutional judgement in favour of the family and had ruled that the family had been deprived of access to the courts as only the commission had had the right to file proceedings before the board up till the 1990s. The family was awarded €100,000 by way of compensation.
On appeal, the Constitutional Court had, in part, confirmed the first court's judgment but also found that the family's right to enjoyment of property had been violated because not all the land had been utilised for a public purpose. The court reduced the compensation award to €20,000.
These two judgments were limited to only two of the four plots.
The family then took action in connection with the remaining plots of land and the First Hall of the Civil Court had awarded it €125,000 by way of damages for the lack of access to a court.
The court found that the case was more serious than the first court case because the commissioner had not filed action before the board even though he had been ordered by a court to do so.
On appeal, the Constitutional Court confirmed its earlier judgment and reduced the damages awarded to €27,000.
On November 22, the European Court, including Maltese Judge David Scicluna, noted that it was not contested that in this case there had been a deprivation of property in violation of the European Convention of Human Rights.
The Court, therefore, ruled that it would examine whether this deprivation had placed a disproportionate burden upon the family.
The Malta government had submitted that the family would receive the value of the land as in 1969, as established by the board, together with five per cent interest.
The European Court added that it had previously decided that awarding compensation that reflected values applicable decades before and deferring payment for decades without taking this delay into account was inadequate and constituted a violation of the right to enjoyment of property.
The Court therefore ruled that the family's right to property and to access to the courts had been violated.
However the Court did not deliver a decision as to the compensation to be awarded to the family.
It resulted that the family was claiming compensation of €7,531,650 being the value of the land together with €250,000 for non-pecuniary damages.
The government had submitted that the 1969 values should apply together with €47,000 by way of moral damages.
The European Court invited the government and the family to submit, within three months, their written submissions as to the compensation payable.
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Joseph Grech Attard
Nov 25th 2011, 10:43
Who knows how many people there are whose property was treated in the same manner, that cannot go to the European Court because they cannot afford it? The laws on land expropriation should be regularly adjusted to be equal to the present period. And this should come about automatically. My congratulations to the Randon family. May God help the others.
P Pace Balzan
Nov 25th 2011, 10:18
@Mr Cecil Cassar
You state "any money paid out to this family will be funded by Maltese citizens who pay tax.€7 million? dreamland."
.
Did it ever cross your mind that this family has been financing the Maltese Government for over 40 years without even getting compensation.
.
The Maltese government should hand over the Freeport to them and pay rent in arrears ( 40 Years+)
apart from damages for violation of human rights.
.
pat muscat
Nov 25th 2011, 07:55
Tant kemm huma iffisati l-apologisti tal-PN li dak li ghamel il-PN fis-69 (Gvern Nazzjonalist) jipprovaw iwikkuh lil PL! B'din il-fissazzjoni il-pajjiz ma jista qatt jimxi l'quddiem! Tal-PL jinten, imma tal-PN ifuh!
A Cuschieri
Nov 25th 2011, 09:25
Qed tikkontradixxi lilek innifsek bil-kummenti li taghmel regolarment. Jekk ghal xi whud tal-PL jinten u tal-PN ifuh, ghalik bil-kontra ghax jigri x'jigri in-negattiv tal-Gvern tneffhu u l-pozittiv tmaqdru xorta.
Joseph Grech Attard
Nov 25th 2011, 10:37
Sur Cuschieri, jekk jista' jkun ejja ma nkunux personali. Pat Muscat m'attakkatikx personali. Ghaliex int attakkajta personali? Mhux sew dan.
A Cuschieri
Nov 25th 2011, 11:02
@ Grech Attard
Ma kienitx intenzjoni tieghi nattakka personali - u jekk inhu l-kaz niskusa ruhi minghajr problemi ta xejn.
Jien ridt nghid li wiehed ma jistax jippunta subajh, lejn dak li jsejjah apologisti tal-PN u jghidilhom iffissati meta l-istess persuna taghmel hekk imma mil-perspettiva opposta.
Wenzu Vella
Nov 25th 2011, 06:46
How can you expect these families to be compensated from a failed government? Consecutive PN governments bankrupted Malta to the tune of 7 billion euro. This equate to about 17,500 euro of debt per head of population SHAME ON YOU.
Mr Joseph Carmel Chetcuti
Nov 25th 2011, 06:05
The Labour party won government in 1971 - surely this is not that difficult to ascertain. Sperak of PN supporters reqriting history.
Joseph Sammut
Nov 25th 2011, 05:57
If I were to preside over this case, I would rule that since the case has been carried from 1969 till 2011, then the compensation should be awarded on today's market value: the Government had all opportunity to settle back in 1969 at that market value, which opportunity he threw away.
George Mifsud
Nov 25th 2011, 03:16
Please note that the Frendo Randon are not the only ones in Malta. My family has made a submission to EneMalta about land expropriated without any fees and compensation for over 30 years. Don't care who was in the government, all politicans are the same whether Labour or PN - justice has to be done -
Joe Grech
Nov 25th 2011, 00:35
And the P.N. propaganda spinners had constantly argued and lamented that it was under Dom Mintoff that such expropriation scandals used to happen! What arrogance! Who can take them seriously?
Kevin Barun
Nov 24th 2011, 22:27
One thing comes to mind....
What violations of human rights we, Residents of Birzebbuga are suffering!
Mr Cecil Cassar
Nov 24th 2011, 22:06
any money paid out to this family will be funded by Maltese citizens who pay tax.
€7 million? dreamland.
P Pace Balzan
Nov 24th 2011, 21:01
Interesting reading :
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110530/local/turkish-company-buys-50-stake-in-malta-freeport.368093
P Pace Balzan
Nov 24th 2011, 20:39
Fact : Just part of the land owned by the Frendo Randon family was recently leased (for just 30 years) for a staggering Eur200,000,000-.
Justice therefore commands that compensation should be well in the billion Euro range.
Mr Adrian Zahra
Nov 25th 2011, 04:01
THe land in question is worth that sum simply and purely because of the Malta Freeport and the commercial benefit thereby deriving. Compensation if any would be in compensation for the violation of human rights, by no means can anyone argue that they be entitled to 200,000,000 simply because of the fact that the value is deriving from thej very existence of the freeport.
P Pace Balzan
Nov 27th 2011, 19:41
@Mr Adrian Zahra
I beg to differ.
The Malta Freeport could not have been built anywhere else on this island.
Your argument is therefore completely invalid since location is in this particular instance is of strategic importance.
ie : the success of the Malta Freeport is thanks to the land of the Frendo Randon family.
Chris Cappello
Nov 24th 2011, 19:59
Well done to the Frendo Randon Family. maybe this should serve as proof that is worth taking the fight to the European court as my family were subject to a requisition order in 1990's of some 35+ plots of land for the freeport development and the government only payed out a joke of only 1200 euros!!! and that we did not see yet because it still tide up in litigation in court!!!
R. Gauci
Nov 24th 2011, 19:45
Ara naqra?? Mela jsiru dawn l-affarijiet taht il-PN!!! Mela vera ahna nazzjon wiehed after all mhux il-homor biss hziena u jintnu ..... back to the 80's if we don't change.
Joseph P. Borg
Nov 24th 2011, 19:26
The present government is being burdened with payments for justified claims for land which was illegally taken over by the Labour government. The payments being requested amount to €200,000,000. Yes two hundred million Euros.
And present Labour politicians are blaming the P.N. for an abnormal increase in the National Debt.
H. Psaila
Nov 24th 2011, 19:38
You are totally right and the poor families that had their land expropriated did not even have a right to fight against it in our law courts. That is how the Labour government treated the Maltese citizens in their governing era.
M Galea
Nov 24th 2011, 19:41
I did not know that in 1969 there was a Labour Government!
Victor Laiviera
Nov 24th 2011, 20:06
This was in 1969, Mr Borg - guess who was in Government at that time.
D. A . Agius
Nov 24th 2011, 20:06
In 1969, the government was run by PN.
1969-1971 PN - 2yrs
1971-1987 MLP - 16 yrs
1987-1996 PN - 9 yrs
1996-1998 MLP - 2yrs
1998-2011 PN - 13yrs
Total: 24 yrs PN,
18 yrs PN.
Any you still state that MLP is responsible? Even if you forget about this case (since 1969), and start from 1987, the PN has in total been in power for 4 years more than the total of MLP rule.
It's not a case of MLP, but a case of ridiculous governments (both sides) that only cherish power and inefficiency.
Paul Micallef
Nov 24th 2011, 20:09
Mr Borg in 1969 the PN was in goverment with Prime Minister George Borg Olivier.
Joe Busuttil
Nov 24th 2011, 20:30
If you are still with us the land was requisitioned in 1969,and at the said date there was a Nat. Govt. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Joe Borg
Nov 24th 2011, 20:35
If I read correctly the land was requisitioned in 1969, How can you blame the PL when at the period of time PN was in government.
Charles Vella
Nov 24th 2011, 20:37
You can say that again mate! ...42% of the people are labour, and labour has always remained the same... some 50% are nationalists, and 8% are floaters...
Sorry so called 'NEW' labour, the floater is not impressed, you got my vote ONCE in 1996, but NEVER again!
Frank Abela
Nov 24th 2011, 20:38
Are you sure that the land was taken under a Labour Government because all the dates mentioned in the article (1969, 1990s and 2008) are all dates when we had PN in government.
P Pace Balzan
Nov 24th 2011, 20:40
Are you sure that there was a Labour government in 1969?
Pat Hobson
Nov 24th 2011, 20:56
If you read correctly, it was 1969. It was a PN government! Labour came into government in 1971.
Jean Paul Galea
Nov 24th 2011, 21:00
The government represents both the nationalist and the Labour people so if the government makes a mistake he is duty bound to repay them back. That's why a government in opposition should act on such issues legally and politically so that when his party is in government he is not faced with such issues. Unfortunately when a party is in opposition these cases are used as advertisement to gain votes and nothing is done to fix the issues.
Jesmond Chetcuti
Nov 24th 2011, 21:10
The land was expropriated in 1969....I dont recall the LP being in government back then....
ray huber
Nov 24th 2011, 21:21
''The European Court heard that the family owned four plots of land and that the land had been subject to a requisition order in 1969''
The Labour Party was in office in 1971 and not in 1969!
R. Gauci
Nov 25th 2011, 00:12
Sur Borg nahseb ma hallilux il-Gvern Laburista fl-87 biex jaghmel tajjeb? Mid-Med, Air Malta u Telemalta nahseb bizzejjed jien.
Mr Alfred Grima
Nov 25th 2011, 01:09
Before you start throwing mud make sure you read and understand the articles! The article states that this requisition order was issued in the year 1969. During that period Malta was led by the Nationalist Party.
The Malta Labour Party was elected in 1970.
Joseph N. Attard
Nov 24th 2011, 19:05
It seems that those who have the courage (and the means) to fight on, are now getting justice by the European courts. I wonder if anyone has taken the National Bank debacle to Europe yet, or if this is legally possible at this stage. Even if not posible now, there is always the possibility that this case would finish up in Europe. Imagine the vast millions that would have to be borne by the guilty party or parties, and their impact on persons and entities with no original blame at all!
riccardo borg
Nov 24th 2011, 19:03
Well done to the Frendo Randon Family. You deserve a good compensation. Good luck.