It has been 40 years since a Labour-led government took over the bank. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

National Bank shareholders may well have a few more years to wait before receiving compensation for their lost assets despite last week’s court ruling in their favour, as the government indicates it may appeal.

Owen Bonnici, Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, would not say, when asked, whether the government will now enter a new round of negotiations for an out-of-court settlement.

“The government wishes to clarify that the judgment delivered was a judgment that only decided part of the case and this means that the government may either seek leave to appeal at this stage or it may consider appealing later when the final decision is given,” Dr Bonnici said.

He said the government was still in the process of examining the judgment “and a definitive reply to the questions posed would be premature”.

It has been 40 years since a Labour-led government took over the bank in 1973 and 22 years since the court case got underway.

The Constitutional court last week decided that the shareholders’ human rights had been breached when they were forced to surrender their shares without any compensation.

The court said that the National Bank had substantial assets that outweighed the bank’s liabilities at the time of the takeover.

The partial judgment is expected to be followed by a second one by Mr Justice Joseph R. Micallef that will liquidate the amount of damages to be awarded to shareholders or their heirs as compensation.

The government is still examining the judgment

During the previous Nationalist administration, negotiations between the two sides had broken down after the then government offered shareholders nearly €20 million but they sought twice that amount.

Following the court ruling, which strengthened their hand, a spokesman for the shareholders said they were keen to resume negotiations seeking an overall compensation of €50 million, which would strain the State’s coffers.

Most of the original 1973 shareholders have passed on and are now represented by their heirs.