A magistrate this morning directed to the Commissioner of Police to issue a permit for a circus to be set up on the car park adjacent to the Granaries in Floriana after establishing that his refusal was abusive.

The decision was taken in a sitting of the Administrative Law Review Tribunal following an application by Johann Said.

In his application, Mr Said said he had received a letter on November 21 informing him that his application was refused again because of a new policy laying down that open spaces in Floriana should not be occupied by circuses.

Mr Said complained it was unacceptable in a democratic society that he should suffer such a blatant breach of his fundamental rights.

Such behaviour also caused him major financial damage because at no stage of the preparations was he given any indication that his application could be refused.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella said the arguments used by the Commissioner of Police on the basis of the reported Cabinet decision were unreasonable.  She questioned how the Cabinet had decided only for open spaces in Floriana, and only with regard to circuses and not other activities. 

This, she declared, was an arbitrary decision. Discretion, including discretion by the Cabinet, applied to what ought to be done, not what one wanted to be done.