A legal limbo in the Cultural Heritage Act led a man who lost two successful auction bids to the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage to file a judicial protest.

History researcher Simon Cusens had won two auctions for 18th century manuscripts - Blocco di Malta Notamenti 1798-1799 by Vincenzo Borg and a set of manuscripts by George Mitrovich dating back to 1818-1878 - but these were acquired by the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage who claimed right of preference.

The researcher was informed of a right to appeal under Article 51 of the Cultural Heritage Act, supposedly catered for by regulations under the hand of the relative minister, only to discover that no such regulations were ever drawn up.

“The protestant finds himself in the surreal situation where as a person directly affected by the exercise of the Superintendent’s power… whilst given the right to file an appeal, finds that the mechanisms and procedures which would permit him to appeal do not exist.”

The law did not indicate a forum in which he was to submit his appeal, or timeframes or an indication of the requisites for the appeal. “All there is, is a legal limbo,” reads the protest.

Claiming that this breached his fundamental right to access to a court, the protesting party called for the immediate provision of a legal remedy by the protested parties, and reserved his right to claim damages.

The protest, signed by lawyers Kris Busietta and Julian Farrugia, was filed against the Superintendent of Cultural Heritage, the Minister for Culture, and the minister’s permanent secretary.