Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1195815
| SUNDAY • 22 DECEMBER 2019 maltatoday 11 Dr Malcolm Mifsud is a partner at Mifsud & Mifsud Advocates THE Administrative Review Tri- bunal ordered that a decision taken by the new Lands Authority be re- voked, since it did not carry out what the previous Lands Department had bound itself to do. This was decided on 18 December 2019 in Adrian Agius -v- Awtorita ta' l-Artijiet presided by Magistrate Dr Charmaine Galea. Agius had filed an application be- fore Administrative Review Tri- bunal complaining that the Lands Authority had refused his request to convert an encroachment of a kiosk in Bugibba to a temporary emphy- teusis. The application originally was filed by Adrian Agius's father, Raymond before the Department of Govern- ment Property. The present Lands Authority rejected the application in view of the new Government Lands Act, which does not allow this type of request. However, Article 82 of this Act states that all administrative acts which were taken before this new legislation should continue to be governed by the old laws. Agius, therefore, requested that the decision taken by the Board of Gov- ernors in May 2019 be revoked. The Lands Authority replied to this application by saying that the deci- sion taken was a just one and should not be revoked. The Authority argued that the transitory provision in Article 82 of the Government Lands Act is being misinterpreted by Agius, since no administrative act had taken place by the Lands Department and one should use the measure of reasona- bleness when one is exercising an administrative discretion. Magistrate Galea analysed the evi- dence brought before the Tribunal and pointed out that although an ap- plication has been lodged in 2018 to convert government from encroach- ment to emphytheusis (ground rent), the file indicated that the is- sue started in 1990, when Raymond Agius filed an application for the same kiosk. After his death in 2008, his son Adrian followed the application closely. In April 2011 the Agius family received a letter from the Government Property Department which said that the government was launching a scheme for kiosks to be granted a 25-year temporary em- phytheusis. In July 2012, Agius received an- other letter that the process was still underway. In 2018 he was advised by the Authority to file another formal request, since the law changed in 2017. The Tribunal held that although the Authority's decision was legally correct under the present legisla- tion, it had to take into considera- tion what took place prior to this. In fact in 2000, the Government is- sued a press release stating that the transfer was approved by Parliament as a Government policy. The Tribunal agreed with Agius that the previous Government Lands Department had taken a decision and the Authority should decide the matter in the light of the old Dispos- al of Government Land Act and not the new Government Lands Act. The Department had committed itself with Agius on transferring the land for 25 years. This is the reason why the law has a transitory provi- sion. Therefore, Agius should not have been prejudiced by a change in law, when the application was filed many years before. Furthermore, the Tribunal pointed out that it has limited power in that it cannot order the Authority to up- hold Agius's application, but it al- lows it to revoke the decision taken. The Tribunal moved to uphold Ag- ius's request to have the decision of May 2019 revoked. A new authority cannot throw away what the previous authority has bound itself to do LAW LAW & PLANNING maltatoday Get the critical perspective on politics, culture and society Be the first to enjoy our print newspaper with a subscription Understanding each other from a different perspective: our journalists and columnists will provide you with expert reporting, analysis and commentary. Order now at maltatoday.uberflip.com