The law courts where the case was settled. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli

A court case was yesterday concluded by the Civil Court when the parties reached a compromise – 82 years after it was first filed.

The property dispute could be one of the most-dragged-out legal cases on record.

It had its origins in a will drawn up by Arcangelo Calleja in 1761 before it went to court in the 1930s, when Italian was the official language of the court.

It was intended to establish the succession to Calleja’s property among the nobility of Malta.

Judge Silvio Meli said the case was a complicated one and had been made more difficult by the numerous parties to it, as the original members had died and their inheritance divided between various heirs.

The case was decided after the parties managed to reach a compromise.

Mr Justice Meli said that the parties had used good sense and had decided to reach an agreement between them as to how the properties comprising the estate of Calleja were to be assigned.

The court concluded by praising the parties and their lawyers for their patience and good sense.