The Government has been ordered to pay over €700,000 in compensation to four stevedore foremen after a court ruled that their fundamental human rights to enjoyment of their property was violated by a law which made them retire on turning 61.
Mr Justice Anthony Ellul in the First Hall of the Civil Court delivered this judgment following a constitutional application filed by Anthony Attard, Armando Chircop, Anthony Spiteri and another Anthony Attard against the Union Haddiema Maghqudin, the Malta Maritime Authority, the Prime Minister, the Minister for Competitiveness and Competition and the Attorney General..
The men had filed their application in 2007 claiming that a legal notice had been promulgated in that year which had established that they, like other port workers, had to retire upon reaching the age of 61.
In a preliminary judgment delivered in November 2011, the court had ruled that this legal notice was in violation of the men's right to enjoyment of their property, as they were being deprived of their licence to work as foremen in the harbour when they reached the age of 61.
The court ruled that the men's licence was their property and that failure to renew their licences was a violation of their property rights. The UHM and the Malta Maritime Authority (now Transport Malta) were exonerated from liability.
The judgment was confirmed by the Constitutional Court last year and today's judgment was limited to the quantum of compensation owing to the men.
In liquidating the damages suffered by the men the court took into consideration their earnings prior to the age of 61 and projected these earnings until they reached the age of 71.
In the case of Anthony Attard, the court found that he had suffered loss of earnings of €218,500 while Armando Chircop had suffered losses of €264,913.
The other Anthony Attard was found to have suffered losses of €56,000 while Anthony Spiteri was found to have lost €190,000.
The court also awarded each of the men €6,000 by way of damages for the violation of their human rights.