A court has banned the government from dismissing a diplomat by transferring her to a dockyard workers' company.

Dr Antoinette Cutajar had instituted proceedings for the court to issue a permanent warrant of prohibitory injunction when she was about to be transferred to IPSL, a company set up to absorb former dockyard workers.

The court, preceded by Madam Justice Edwina Grima, this morning upheld Dr Cutajar's argument that she was a public officer employed on an indefinite contract and therefore the government could not unilaterally dismiss her.

Furthermore, the court said, it was perplexed how the government expected to engage Dr Cutajar with a company set up for former shipbuilding and dockyard workers.

The government had argued that Dr Cutajar was not employed following a public call but was engaged on the basis of trust under the previous administration.

Ms Cutajar, who holds a doctorate in political science, argued, however, that in  2007 a European Commission directive was issued requiring all those who had been employed on a year-on-year contractual basis for more than four years to be given an indefinite contract.

The administration at the time applied this to all its employees, including herself.

Dr Karol Aquilina represented Dr Cutajar.