Two men filed separate judicial protests against Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and the Malta Resources Authority demanding they be granted licences to distribute Liquefied Petroleum Gas.

Nikolai Busuttil and Josef Spagnol claimed that they were being discriminated against in the issue of licences for the distribution of LPG cylinders.

Mr Busuttil is facing criminal proceedings for distributing gas cylinders without a licence.

Both men said they had applied for the necessary licence with the Malta Resources Authority but, despite meeting all the requirements laid down by law, they were informed they would not get a licence “for the time being.”

Both men said despite meeting the legal requirements, they would not get a licence for now

They argued that the MRA was legally bound to process applications for LPG cylinders distribution within three months but while Mr Spagnol applied for a licence some nine months ago Mr Busuttil’s application was almost a year old.

They also complained that, by procrastinating in issuing the licences, the regulator was breaching the law.

They complained that the government had arbitrarily chosen a limited number of distributors and they were just as qualified to distribute gas. This, they argued, amounted to discrimination.

Mr Busuttil and Mr Spagnol insisted on a level playing field adding that they expected to receive the same treatment as others in the business.

They demanded that their licences be issued immediately and that the government pay them damages. Lawyer Robert Abela signed the protests.