The government has been ordered to pay €20,000 in damages to two companies which owned properties in Valletta that were expropriated in 1993.

Coleiro Brothers Ltd and B Tagliaferro and Sons Ltd filed their constitutional applications in 2009 against the Commissioner of Lands and the Attorney General.

They told the court that, between them, they owned two-thirds of three properties in Archbishop Street and one property in Strait Street.

In 1993, the properties were expropriated by the government but no use had been made of them.

The companies claimed that they had been deprived of their properties and of access to the courts, and that, consequently, their fundamental human rights had been violated.

In two separate judgments, delivered by Mr Justice Tonio Mallia, the court pointed out that the Commissioner of Lands had expropriated the properties so that they could be converted and used as offices for the Attorney General. 

But although the expropriation had taken place in 1993 no further action was taken by the government because the properties were occupied by squatters and tenants.
In fact, although preliminary plans had been drawn up for the conversion of the properties, the AG’s office had repeatedly requested the Lands Department, between 1996 and 2007, to take action to evict the squatters and tenants.
On its part, the department had written to the Housing Authority to provide alternative accommodation for the occupiers.

Eviction orders were eventually issued by the Justice Ministry and the properties were vacated in 2007 when the Attorney General's Office submitted new plans to MEPA.

Mr Justice Mallia concluded that the expropriation in itself was not in violation of the companies' fundamental human rights but it found that the delay in the finalisation of the process was.

The court also found that the companies had suffered a violation due to the fact that they had not had access to the courts to conclude the finalisation process between 1993 and 2009 when the law changed.

The court awarded each of the companies €10,000 in moral damages.