The government has indicated its willingness to resume talks over the possibility of reaching an out-of-court settlement with former shareholders of the National Bank.
At the same time, the Attorney General is reserving the right to appeal preliminary court decisions upholding claims that the human rights of shareholders were breached when the government took over their shares in 1973.
Asked by Times of Malta to declare the government’s stand following last Thursday’s second court judgment in less than a month in favour of the National Bank shareholders, Justice Parliamentary Secretary Owen Bonnici would not say whether it would be appealing.
Highlighting that the judgments only decided part of the claims, he said that the former shareholders had already appealed another judgment that was decided in the government’s favour.
“The cases are therefore still ongoing and it is only legitimate for the government to safeguard its rights according to law.”
After a 40-year battle, the court decided last month that shareholders had conceded their shares against their will and had a right to compensation. The same was decided last Thursday in a court case instituted by shareholders who had not given their consent to release their shares but which were still taken over by the government.
But the court rejected a separate case filed by four shareholders who asked for a revocation of their consent to transfer their individual shares on to a private company, claiming that technical procedures were not followed.
Asked whether, following the latest developments, the government will now be seeking to re-open talks with the shareholders on a possible out-of-court settlement, Dr Bonnici said the government was open for more discussions. “There were various attempts at finding a settlement to the issue in the past, which proved unsuccessful.”
Although he did not divulge the government’s intentions, Times of Malta is informed that the government will most probably appeal.
Mr Justice Joseph Micallef on Thursday upheld a request by the Attorney General and allowed the government to launch an appeal even after the preliminary judgment.
“Although the court judgments are preliminary and still have to be concluded with the liquidation of damages in favour of the shareholders, the government asked and obtained the court’s permission to launch an appeal even at this stage without waiting for a final judgment. This indicates clearly that the government will appeal,” a seasoned lawyer pointed out.
“This might also be a government tactic to use as leverage in possible discussions on an out-of-court settlement,” he added.
Before the last election, talks on a settlement with the previous administration failed as shareholders rejected a €20 million offer. The shareholders were asking for €50 million.