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European Court orders government to pay €160,000 over requisitioned property
Woman whose property was requisitioned in 1958 awarded over €160,000 in pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
3 September 2013, 12:00am
Staff Reporter
Staff Reporter
1 min read
A woman whose Valletta property was requisitioned by the government in 1958 had her claims of a breach of her right to private property upheld by the European Court of Human Rights.
Agnes Gera de Petri Testaferrata Bonici Ghaxaq, who lives in Balzan, sued the Maltese government in the Strasbourg court over an order issued in 1958 taking control of property she owned in Valletta, subject to payment of annual compensation.
She complained about the excessive length - more than 30 years - of the ensuing proceedings and that, although the Constitutional Court eventually found a breach of her property rights, she had not been granted compensation.
In its principal judgment of 5 April 2011, the Court found violations of her right to a fair hearing and right to private property, and held that the Maltese government was to pay her €25,000 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and €5,000 in respect of costs and expenses.
Gera de Petri was also awarded €160,000 in total pecuniary damage for just satisfaction.
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I just want to point out that in 1958 the Government at that time was the Colonial Government managed directly by the Governor, as the MLP had resigned early in April of 1958.
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It is a big shame that the Government of Malta requisitioned (confiscated) so many private properties in the past and up to this very day these private properties cannot be returned back to the real owners or to the heirs of such properties. I have been writing about this same story for the last four years and all I got was double talk by the government. My father's property was requisitioned (seized) by the government in 1974, that is almost forty years ago and my siblings and I still cannot occupy and or get back that same property at Triq in-Naxxar Road B'Kara. For personal reasons I cannot engage a lawyer to fight for me in court because the property is not worth what the lawyer and the courts will charge. Thanks to our barbaric and archaic laws shame on both administrations for not allowing us siblings who inherited this property to be able to evict the original tenants who squatted and moved into this property in 1974. If interested any responsible government representative can get in touch with me at [email protected]. "THE GOVERNMENT TAKETH AWAY AND THE GOVERNMENT MUST GIVETH BACK". By the way the year of requisition (confiscation) of the property was 1974 and the Government in power at the time was the infamous MLP. Please prove to me that Malta is "TGHANA ILKOL" and return our property back to us, the legal owners of this property.
