Pleas raised by government authorities following an action filed by Canadian company Arton Capital Inc about the choice of Henley & Partners Holdings Europe Ltd to operate the Individual Investment Programme in Malta have been dismissed by the courts.

Arton filed its action in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Home Affairs Minister, his permanent secretary and the Attorney General.

It claimed that the concession granted to Henley was null and void as it was ultra vires the process by which public concessions were made. The company claimed that there had been an abuse of power on the part of the authorities.

Respondents claimed that the action ought not to have been filed against the minister and the Attorney General, but solely against the permanent secretary.

In a preliminary judgement, Mr Justice Joseph R Micallef upheld this claim but dismissed all the other preliminary pleas raised, including that Henley ought to have been made a party to the suit.

The case was put off for evidence to be produced on the merits of the litigation.

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