A judge has put an end to an eight-year legal battle by one of Mabel Strickland’s heirs over the use of Villa Parisio in Lija.

Mr Justice Silvio Meli accepted two of Robert Hornyold Strickland’s claims and gave him the go-ahead to use the villa’s guest rooms with the bathroom and the study.

The court was ruling on a case filed in 2010 by Mr Hornyold Strickland against the Strickland Foundation and the executors of Ms Strickland’s will – Joseph Ganado and Guido de Marco.

He initiated the case insisting that as her inheritor, he had a right to use Villa Parisio as his residence throughout his lifetime.

The entire issue hinged on the interpretation of two particular clauses in Ms Strickland’s will, which she personally wrote just before she died in 1988.

Order to remove security cameras

One clause states that Ms Strickland bequeathed to the foundation “all the contents [of Villa Parisio] with the exception of gold, silver and other precious articles…”

In another clause, Ms Strickland wrote that full use of the guest rooms, bathrooms and study are bequeathed to her nephew on condition that he would not interfere with the work of the foundation.

On the first issue on the interpretation of the words “precious articles”, the court ruled that the words “precious articles” covered any object that has a value of €1,000 or more and not Lm100 as Mr Hornyold Strickland had requested.

The court rejected all of Mr Hornyold Strickland’s other claims, including those over land interconnected with Villa Parisio.

Mr Hornyold Strickland resides in the villa.

In its judgment, the court rejected Mr Hornyold Strickland’s interpretation of this provision of the will and decided that his right of use and habitation was limited to those areas of the villa indicated by the executors of the will.

Mr Justice Meli also ordered the removal of security cameras located within the villa as the court held that they con-stituted harassment to Mr Hornyold Strickland.

The foundation argued that the cameras had been installed years back at the request of the property’s insurers, prior to Mr Hornyold Strickland taking up residence and that since then, the cameras had been removed.

For decades, the foundation made use of Villa Parisio to host regular events, seminars and talks on various subjects ranging from journalism to human rights.

In a statement, the foundation welcomed the judgment, which confirmed that Villa Parisio was bequeathed to the Strickland Foundation and defined which areas of the villa Mr Hornyold Strickland could use.

“While the foundation will continue to respect Mr Hornyold Strickland’s right to use the guestrooms of Villa Parisio as defined by the court, the foundation hopes that Mr Hornyold Strickland will now respect the rights of the Strickland Foundation to make use of Villa Parisio as its property and seat,” it said.