The Sta Venera feast organisers will be letting off fireworks next to he Marsa golf course this evening after the Chief Justice ruled that the sports club's request to stop the pyrotechnic show was not covered by law.
Chief Justice Vincent De Gaetano sympathised with the Marsa Sports Club (MSC), which turned to the court to stop the fireworks, arguing that the letting off of fireworks was causing disproportionate inconvenience to the public when opposed to what the fireworks enthusiasts considered to be their "rights".
However, the Chief Justice said the law bound him to allow the fireworks given that the MSC had not proven its right to warranted protection. This was because the fireworks were not to be let off from the club's property and the club could take safety precautions to cover its property.
"We're very disappointed," MSC acting secretary Albert Bonello said when contacted.
"We have several functions booked for the weekend and they've been booked for ages because we did not know about the Sta Venera's request," he said.
According to a contract signed in 2002 between the MSC and the government, the club is to allow its land to be used to let off fireworks for the St Sebastian feast in Qormi. However, there is no mention of the Sta Venera feast.
When contacted, a spokesman for the Sta Venera fireworks enthusiasts preferred not to comment.
On Tuesday the MSC, which hosts the Royal Malta Golf Club (RMGC), applied for a warrant of prohibitory injunction calling on the court to stop an application by the Sta Venera feast enthusiasts to let off fireworks from land near their golf club. The land does not belong to the club.
The MSC took the matter to court after losing over €200,000 worth of golf clubs and shoes in a locker room fire on Saturday night that is suspected to have been caused by debris from fireworks let off during the feast of Qormi.
The application was filed in the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Police Commissioner and the July 26 Fireworks committee that organises the pyrotechnic display for the Sta Venera feast.
Following an onsite inquiry and an evaluation of the facts, Chief Justice De Gaetano commented, among other things, that explosions that preceded and accompanied fireworks displays caused great inconvenience and terrified pets and children and disturbed persons who were ill. However, no law existed that regulated noise pollution, the court noted.
On the other hand, according to law, warrants of prohibitory injunction could only be issued if the court was satisfied that such action was required to protect a proven right.
The Chief Justice declared that the MSC was entitled to protect its property from damage. However, this could be done by taking simple precautions and holding the Police Commissioner or the fireworks club liable in damages.
The court added that it resulted that the fireworks were to be let off from a water course ditch that, though adjacent to the golf course, belonged to the government and was not included in the club's lease. Consequently, the court concluded that the MSC had not proven that it had a right that warranted protection and dismissed the request for the warrant.