Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1509248
7 NEWS maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 OCTOBER 2023 PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALL UNDER AMIF 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for EU Funds pre-announces the issuing of the call under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027: • Specific Objective 1: Facilitating access to information on the asylum determination process for migrants. The call is going to be launched on 16 th October 2023 and will remain open till 18 th December 2023, at noon. The application form, details of eligibility and indicator guideline notes will be made available with the launch of the call. Prospective Applicants are encouraged to refer to the AMIF Programme available on https://fondi.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AMIF- Programme.pdf, in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. An information session will also be held on the contents of the application form and respective guidelines. For further information, the Managing Authority can be contacted by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. PRE-ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALL UNDER AMIF 2021-2027 The Ministry responsible for EU Funds pre-announces the issuing of the call under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2021-2027: • Specific Objective 1: Facilitating access to information on the asylum determination process for migrants. The call is going to be launched on 16 th October 2023 and will remain open till 18 th December 2023, at noon. The application form, details of eligibility and indicator guideline notes will be made available with the launch of the call. Prospective Applicants are encouraged to refer to the AMIF Programme available on https://fondi.eu/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/AMIF- Programme.pdf, in order to check whether their proposals are eligible for funding through this call for project proposals. An information session will also be held on the contents of the application form and respective guidelines. For further information, the Managing Authority can be contacted by email on fondi.eu@gov.mt. Brothers challenge police commissioner over father's workplace death NICOLE MEILAK THREE brothers are challeng- ing the police commissioner in court in a fight to hold a compa- ny accountable for their father's untimely death. Carmnu Micallef, their father, lost his life while carrying out a work duty in Birżebbuġa. Charg- es have been brought against his co-worker for involuntary hom- icide, but Micallef's sons argue that the company should also take responsibility for his death. The incident goes back to 2022, when the 71-year-old man was helping his colleague, Davide Manunta, manoeuvre through a narrow street in Wied il-Qoton. The two men were delivering steel mesh to a private residence at the time of the incident. However, Manunta accidental- ly reversed the company vehicle onto Micallef. When the police arrived on site, they certified him dead on the spot. Manunta is facing charges of involuntary homicide and neg- ligent driving but pleaded not guilty. But for the Micallef brothers, the company that Manunta and their father were working for should also shoulder responsi- bility for the accident. The brothers are pursuing legal action to compel the police com- missioner to take action against G&P Borg, the company their fa- ther was working for at the time of his death. Their argument hinges on the belief that this was a workplace accident, and not just a traffic ac- cident, because it happened dur- ing working hours and involved the use of a company vehicle. The family's lawyer had pre- viously argued in court that the incident should have been reported to the OHSA since it happened during working hours. Since the incident was classified as a traffic accident, there is no grounds for proceedings against G&P Borg. In the police commissioner's initial response to the brother's challenge, he maintains that the magisterial inquiry conducted at the time recommended action against the driver, not the com- pany. Furthermore, he contends that the accident, regardless of the victim's occupational status or the vehicle involved, should be deemed a road accident. "If there was a third person around to help the driver ma- noeuvre, that person might have ended up being the victim. In that case, that person wouldn't be able to rely on health and safety laws; it would be classified as a road accident," the commis- sioner said in his response. The legal tussle raises ques- tions about the interpretation of Maltese health and safety regu- lations. According to these reg- ulations, any accident connected to work resulting in the death or major injury of an individual should be treated as a notifiable accident, requiring reporting to the Occupational Health and Safety Authority (OHSA). The family have already filed Constitutional proceedings re- lated to the case, arguing that the formula used by Malta's courts to calculate civil damages is dis- criminatory towards the elderly. The courts long used the cri- teria established in the 1967 landmark Butler v Heard judg- ment by the Court of Appeal. In calculating the damages due, the court takes into account the age of the individual, the wage that he was earning at the time of incident in question and the percentage of disability, as deter- mined by medical experts. Dam- ages are normally calculated up till retirement age. The use of this formula will limit the amount in damages that the family will be able to re- ceive - if any. The application asks the court to declare that the applicants will suffer a breach of their fun- damental rights under the Con- stitution and the European Con- vention on Human Rights if the Butler vs Heard formula is used to quantify the damages they can receive and grant an "effective and adequate" remedy in the cir- cumstances. The court case is set to com- mence on 14 November. A photo disseminated by the police, showing the heavy vehicle that claimed the life of Carmnu Micallef