Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1489264
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 JANUARY 2023 NEWS 10. Food prices will bite With consumers shielded from high- er energy and fuel prices, it will be food and services that will chip away at spending power. The statutory wage increase of €9.90 per week from January and other budgetary measures, such as the higher Chil- dren's Allowance, will cushion some of the impact. But food inflation will remain a headache. 11. Ukraine war will drag on Russia may attempt a second mul- ti-pronged ground attack in the east, south and north of Ukraine as the winter months subside or Ukrainian forces will continue their gradual advance and recapture more territo- ry. In either case, the war is likely to drag on for months, severely testing European unity over continued mili- tary aid to Ukraine and Vladimir Pu- tin's permanence in Moscow. 12. Military flare ups elsewhere China's lacklustre economic per- formance could trigger something more than sabre-rattling over Tai- wan, while North Korea will contin- ue to test its southern neighbour's patience. In the Balkans, the Ser- bia-Kosovo border could become a flashpoint for conflict, while Recep Tayyip Erdogan's flagging fortunes ahead of presidential and parliamen- tary elections in June could prompt a skirmish with Greece over oil explo- ration rights in the eastern Mediter- ranean. 13. Crypto rules The collapse of crypto exchange FTX and its founder's arraignment on charges of fraud, money laundering and breaking US election campaign finance, coupled with Bitcoin's 60% decline in 2022 have shaken the foundations of cryptocurrency. In 2023, expect central bankers and governments to intensify efforts CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Valentino is also seeking compensa- tion for damages allegedly suffered. The case was filed as a reaction to the introduction of Legal Notice 73 of 2022 in February, which resulted in the revo- cation of all land registrations in a large area of Nadur, which included the Ab- bazia's titles. The introduction of that Legal No- tice had been prompted by complaints made by several of the affected area's residents, whose title over the land is being challenged by the businessmen who have joined forces with the Ab- bazia heirs, who claim the lands are theirs. This group includes lawyer Carmelo Galea, a one-time lawyer to the Gozitan Curia; the former magistrate Dennis Montebello and his daughters, who own the company Carravan; and the Stagno Navarra family, who claim to be the heirs of 17th century noblewoman Cosmana Navarra – the founder of the Abbazia di Sant Antonio delli Navarra. Valentino is alleging that the govern- ment introduced the legal notice just before the last general election in a bid to satiate "private individuals occupy- ing the land… who instead of having recourse to judicial fora, launched a campaign on the media and in street protests to put pressure on the Govern- ment, resulting in the legislation that is being impugned." The constitutional case is scheduled to begin before Madam Justice Joanne Vella Cuschieri next month. Background In the year 1675, Cosmana Navarra entrusted the control of her land to the Abbazia (foundation), granting the Archbishop the power to appoint a rec- tor to administer the lands for the ben- efit of the foundation. The rector was to be a male descendant of Cosmana's nephew Federico or, in his absence, a priest. Fast forward to 1992, when a certain Richard Stagno Navarra – claiming to be a descendant of Cosmana Navarra – demanded the right to be the Abbazia's rector. The Archbishop's Curia initial- ly resisted the claims, obtaining a court judgement in 2013 which confirmed the Archbishop's right to appoint the rector. But in 2017, much to the consterna- tion of the residents and farmers con- cerned, Archbishop Charles Scicluna accepted – without carrying out any verification of the heirs' claims – the Stagno Navarras' ancestry claims, ap- pointing the rector of their choice, law- yer Patrick Valentino. The appointment of Valentino – as it happens, the partner of Montebello's daughter and magistrate Rachel – was made for the price of €200,000 that is supposed to be used for pious acts for the repose of the soul of Cosmana Navarra. As rector, Valentino immediately set out to transfer the Abbazia's land to Carravan, the company running the lands. Today, Carravan is challenging prop- erty titles of homeowners in Qala and Nadur, with residents fighting their pretensions in expensive court cases. The legal notice froze these registra- tions, bringing a stalemate to proceed- ings that for the time being, stopping Carravan from putting out the land for development as it did in Qala. The legal notice was always set to be challenged in the Maltese courts, giv- en that the LRA in Nadur registered in 2019 gave rise to property registrations that brought with them "legitimate ex- pectations" of asset value. LRAs are designated areas in Malta where an effective title to land must be registered by those who own it. Nota- ries register property sales falling in- side LRAs within two weeks, whether they are a first-time or subsequent reg- istration. This also means that pretenders to a property's title can challenge any reg- istration by filing a caution against it. After 10 years pass the first registra- tion, that title is converted into a guar- anteed title – as long as no caution was filed against that title during that pe- riod. Foundation lawyer files constitutional challenge Residents protest outside the Maltese Curia