The owners of a property in Birzebbuga have been awarded €25,000 for breach of human rights when they were deprived of their property without compensation for more than 40 years.

This was in breach of their human rights, the Court ruled.

In handing down judgement, Mr Justice Tonio Mallia declared that the damages were being limited to the human rights violation and that the owners were still entitled to receive compensation for the loss of their property.

In their Constitutional application against the Commissioner of Lands and the Attorney General, Igino, Dorothy, Michael, Paul and Nicholas Trapani Galea Feriol, Marlene Huber, Nicholas and Andre Bianchi, Anne Marie Tabone, Bettina Azzopardi, and Greta Apap Bologna told the court that they owned Casa Del Governatore Filippo Castagna (subsequently known as Villa Miramar) in Birzebbuga and the adjacent garden. Together, they measured 652 square metres.

In 1973 they obtained building permits to develop the property but in the same year the government expropriated it under title of possession and use on grounds that it was needed for a public purpose.

To date, the property remained in the Government's hands and the owners had not received any form of compensation.

Mr Justice Mallia said that although the Government had originally claimed that it had only expropriated the house and not the garden, it resulted that the total property had been taken over and a public garden was developed on site.

The Government had,, therefore, occupied and demolished the house and  incorporated the garden into the public garden.

The court added that the authorities had not acted correctly, for the owners had been deprived of their property and of compensation for 40 years.

Furthermore, the Government ought to have expropriated the property by title of outright purchase and not possession and use, for the nature of the property had changed and it could not be handed back to its owners in its original state.

The court further ordered the government to commence procedures for the outright purchase of the property within four months and to pay compensation.

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