The new owners of a grave at the Addolorata Cemetery cannot use it for burial, in line with the wish of the man it originally belonged to and as expressed in his will.

Antonio Brincat purchased the grave from the government in 1935. When he died in 1958, it emerged that his will, drawn up in 1944, stipulated that the grave should be sealed permanently once his heirs and their children were buried there.

He said the condition was made to ensure that the bodies of both himself and his wife would not be transferred to another site.

In March 2001, his heirs applied for permission to clean the grave and to have its contents transferred to another site. The permission was granted. Then, in June of the following year, they sold the grave to Carmelo and Josephine Abela, who were subsequently informed by the burials administration unit that no burials were possible in the grave they had bought, in accordance with Mr Brincat’s will.

Mr Justice Mark Chetcuti said there was no doubt the Abelas owned the grave. However, the authorities were correct to prohibit further burials there because Mr Brincat’s will had to be observed.

Unfortunately, the authorities had granted permission for the remains of Mr Brincat and his wife to be removed from the grave – in express violation of his will – because they had not been aware of its provisions.

It was Mr Brincat’s heirs who had violated the provisions of his will, which, however, was still valid and binding for both the heirs and the cemetery administration. Therefore, the grave had to be sealed permanently, with no further burials allowed.

The court therefore dismissed the Abelas’ request to allow use of the grave for burial.