A couple who was awarded €2,000 for having to wait for 30 years for a court judgment had the compensation raised to €6,000.

The couple, Francis and Enoe Said, had first gone to court in 1973 over a seemingly petty dispute with a goldsmith in connection with repairs he was meant to do on an antique gold chain.

Claims for damages against the goldsmith had first been filed by the Saids, in what was then Her Majesty's Commercial Court in Malta but the case was eventually decided upon by the First Hall of the Civil Court (which had in the meantime assumed the duties of the Commercial Court) in October 2003.

Because of the delay, the Saids decided to file a constitutional application asking the court to declare that their fundamental human right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time had been violated. They demanded that the Attorney General should pay them compensation.

The court found in their favour last June but noted that the Saids had contributed to the delay by failing to attend all the court sittings and changing their lawyer.

However, the Saids were still awarded €2,000 in compensation. An appeal was filed before the Constitutional Court, with the Saids denying contributing to the delay and asking for a higher compensation.

The judges deciding the appeal, Chief Justice Vincent Degaetano, Mr Justice Joseph D. Camilleri and Mr Justice Joseph A. Filletti, ruled that not only were there unjustified delays but that it was through no fault of the Saids.

The court noted that after both sides in the case had no further evidence to produce, the case continued to be heard before the courts for a further 27 years until it was decided in October 2003. The Saids had failed to attend eight sittings over the course of 30 years, an insignificant number in the circumstance, the court ruled.

The court added that it took an appointed legal expert five years to submit a report, pointing out that it was the court's duty to make sure there were no such delays in proceedings.