A newspaper article written by Environment Minister José Herrera more than 12 years ago was not defamatory, a court of appeal confirmed today. 

Marc Bonello, Dion Buhagiar and Alex Torpiano had filed libel proceedings against Dr Herrera following the publication of his article 'Deep Water Quay', which appeared in the Times of Malta on June 15, 2004.  

The article that Dr Bonello, at the time the vice chairman of the Maritime Authority and chairman of the Capital Projects Committee, had granted undue advantage to his former work partner, Prof. Torpiano.

Dr Bonello had also felt libelled by comments regarding his alleged role in the dismissal of Camel Chircop, a Maritime Authority legal advisor at the time. The article had also referred to Dr Bonello's say in the appointment of the architects involved in the Cirkewwa Mgarr Terminal Project.

The appeal court, presided by Mr Justice Anthony Ellul, observed that at the time of the publication of the article Dr Bonello occupied a high public post and was therefore subject to public scrutiny.

Criticism such as that carried by the newspaper article, questioning the transparency of his actions and his conflict of interest, was 'legitimate and permissible', the court remarked.

The court noted that at the time, Dr Bonello though occupying a public post, was still registered as a partner at TBA Periti, together with Prof. Torpiano and Dr Buhagiar.

Moreover, it found that Dr Herrera had directed his criticism towards Dr Bonello without mentioning Prof. Torpiano and Dr Buhagiar by name.

The court rejected the appeal by the plaintiffs and declared that the article was not defamatory in their regard.

Lawyer David Camilleri was counsel to the defendant.