A court yesterday threw out a request to declare that an Italian national was not the 77th Grandmaster of the Sovereign Order of St John of Jerusalem, ruling that the courts were barred by law from recognising titles of nobility.

The case was filed by Chev. Louis Scerri Montaldo, as Grandmaster of the Order, against Basilio Calì.

Chev. Scerri Montaldo told the court that Mr Calì was, by fraudulent means, portraying himself as the 77th Grandmaster of this Order in order to appropriate money belonging to the Order from banks.

The court was further told that Chev. Scerri Montaldo was the 76th Grandmaster of this Order and that Mr Calì had no claim to be his successor in title.

Chev. Scerri Montaldo asked the court to declare that Mr Calì was not the 77th Grandmaster and to prohibit him from carrying out any act in representation of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

Mr Calì pleaded that he had been validly appointed as 77th Grandmaster. At a later stage he pleaded that the courts were specifically barred by law from taking any decision on matters concerning titles of nobility and foreign honours and decorations.

Although Chev. Scerri Montaldo rebutted that the latter plea could only be raised at the start of judicial proceedings, the court yesterday ruled that this was a matter of public order and therefore could be raised at any stage of the proceedings.

Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, said the law specifically provided that no public officer or public authority in Malta could recognise, in any manner, titles of nobility or honours and decorations which were not explicitly mentioned in Maltese law.

This principle of law had been confirmed in a number of cases decided by the local courts over the years.

The court, therefore, dismissed the case.