A 74-year-old man was yesterday awarded €5,000 in damages after a court found that a delay of over 40 years for two civil cases to be decided violated his fundamental human rights.

In a constitutional application before Madam Justice Anna Felice, sitting in the First Hall of the Civil Court, Żakkarija Calleja said he spent the last 43 years dealing with two court cases filed in 1970 and in 1971. He said none of the cases – about a disputed payment of €28,356 in animal feed – presented any particularly difficult legal issues.

Mr Calleja noted that Ignazio Gatt, the other person involved in the cases, had died in the course of the proceedings and his heirs had filed a constitutional action against the Attorney General on the basis of unreasonable delays. The heirs were awarded €12,000 in July 2013.

Madam Justice Felice said that Mr Calleja had not been responsible for the delays in the proceedings. The cases had been heard by a number of judges and various court experts had been involved until they were finally decided.