A court case filed in 1931 in Italian was concluded today by the First Hall of the Civil Court after the parties reached a compromise.

Mr Justice Silvio Meli said that the case, which had been filed by means of a libel (which is a now defunct procedural method), had its origins in a will drawn up by a certain Arcangelo Calleja in 1761.

It was intended to establish the succession to Mr Calleja's property among the nobility of Malta. The case was filed in the Italian language which, at the time, was the official language of the court.

The court said that the case was a complicated one and had been complicated further by the numerous parties to it as the original parties had died and their inheritance had been divided between numerous heirs. In fact, 15 of the 30 pages of the judgement, contained only the names of the parties to the suit.

Mr Justice Meli said that the parties had used good sense and had decided to reach an agreement between them as to how the properties comprising the estate of Mr Calleja were to be assigned between them. He praised them and   their lawyers for their good sense.