The former head of the University’s Faculty of Pharmacy was yesterday awarded almost €250,000 in damages after a court found it was wrongful not to reinstate him to his post following the 1977 doctors’ strike.

Twenty years ago, Anthony Jaccarini and the Medical Association of Malta started proceedings against Eddie Fenech Adami, who was Prime Minister, Louis Galea and Ugo Mifsud Bonnici, both Cabinet minister at the time, and the late Fr Peter Serracino Inglott, who was then University rector.

At the time of the doctors’ strike, Prof. Jaccarini was head of the University Pharmacy Department and a full-time University employee. As a result of the strike action, he had resigned from his University post and obtained employment overseas.

Following a change of government in 1987, an agreement was reached with the Medical Association of Malta to reinstate those who had been dismissed from work or lost their job as a result of the protracted industrial action. The agreement also covered the University.

Prof. Jaccarini complained in court that, although other University professors – including Frederick Fenech and Joseph Bannister – had been reinstated as a result, he had not, even though he had fulfilled all the criteria required by the agreement.

Prof. Jaccarini said his post had been filled by Anthony Serracino Inglott.

Mr Justice Silvio Meli, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, said Prof. Jaccarini had returned to Malta as a result of the agreement and had expected to be reinstated. However, this did not happen even though his name had been included in the list of those who were to return to work.

The list had mysteriously disappeared, the court noted, but its existence had been confirmed by reliable witnesses.

Prof. Jaccarini had been verbally assured by the authorities that he would benefit from the agreement.

Government ministers had pleaded that Prof. Jaccarini could not be reinstated because that would be in contravention of the Education Act.

The University representative, however, said that the government was bound to act on the decisions of the University Council.

Mr Justice Meli ruled that the government had stopped Prof. Jaccarini from exercising his rights in terms of the agreement reached with the MAM. This contrasted with the treatment meted out to Prof. Fenech and Prof. Bannister whose path to reintegration at the University had been smoothed.

In liquidating the damages suffered by Prof. Jaccarini, the court said he had been subjected to psychological trauma and this had to be taken into consideration.

Mr Justice Meli noted that Prof. Jaccarini ought to have been reinstated in January 1988, retiring from his University post in September 1997 on reaching pensionable age.

The loss of income Prof. Jaccarini had suffered over the years amounted to €223,043.97, to which sum the court added €20,000 as damages for the trauma he had suffered.