Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1527863
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 OCTOBER 2024 NEWS MATTHEW VELLA mvella@mediatoday.com.mt Banns for Curators Republic of Malta To the Marshall of the Court By means of a decree given by this Court, on the 2nd April, 2024, following a request of Oleksii Reshetniak it was ordered that deputy curators be chosen to represent Ievheniia Reshetniak, in the records of the Sworn Application 303/2024DC, in the names Oleksii Rashetniak vs Deputy Curators and in the other relative and subsequent acts. By means of a Sworn Application, filed in the First Hall Civil Court, in the names Oleksii Reshetniak (residence identification number MT7743077) vs Ievheniia Reshetniak, on the 21st March, 2024, the applicant Oleksii Reshetniak requested with respect this Honourable Court to: 1. Recognise the judgement of the Court of Holosiivskyi in Kyiv in Ukraine given on the 8th August, 2022, in the names Oleksii Reshetniak vs Ievheniia Reshetniak; 2. Declares enforeable the judgement given on the 8th August, 2022, by the Holosiivskyi Court in Kyiv in Ukraine by which the care and custody of the minor … omissis … was declared to be vested solely in the name of the applicant and orders its execution and this in terms of Articles 825A-828 of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure, Cap. 12 of the Laws of Malta. Save any other provision that this Honourable Court deems fit and opportune. With the costs against the respondent. The application in the said names is postponed for hearing for the 21st May, 2024, at 9.30 a.m. Applicant: c/o 280E, Triq ir-Repubblika, Valletta Notification: Deputy curators, Law Courts You are therefore ordered to affix an official copy of these banns at the entrance of this Superior Court and to summon whosoever wishes to act as curator to appear before this registry within six days and by means of a minute to submit a declaration that he wishes so to act. You are also ordered to inform each one that if he fails to make this declaration within the stipulated time, the Court will proceed to the selection of curators of office. And after so acting, or if you should encounter any difficulty in the execution of these banns, you are to inform forthwith this Court. Given by the Civil Court First Hall, above mentioned, with the witness of the Hon. Madam Justice Doreen Clarke, LLD , Doctor of Laws. Today 2nd April, 2024 Registry of the Superior Courts, today 26th April, 2024 Alexandra Debattista For the Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals A Constitutional Court ordered the payment of over €60,000 in damages from the State to the owners of a Valletta property, shop 6 at Kingsway Palace on Republic Street, on a breach of property rights. Kingsway Palace Compa- ny claimed that rent control regulations infringed on their right to rent out their property, whose previous tenants were protected from rental increases and evictions. Kingsway requested the re- moval of the Rent Control Or- dinance's protection for the lease and a declaration of no obligation to renew the lease for the company San Antonio Ltd, which expected a termina- tion in 2028 for its commercial lease, contracted before 1995. The 1995 law essentially stip- ulated that leases drafted be- fore June 1, 1995, and renewed after that date, would not be considered as new leases, al- lowed them to operate under a pre-existing legal framework. For Kingsway's property unit at no. 6, this meant that despite subsequent amendments and lease transfers, the agreement remained bound by the pre- 1995 rent control regulations. The property was initially leased to the partnership 'Borg & Farrugia' through a private contract with an annual rent of Lm500 (€1,165) in 1961. The lease agreement was amend- ed in 1997 to recognise Farry Limited, represented by Joseph Farrugia, as the tenant, replac- ing the original tenant, with an increased rent and provision for a 5% rent increase every three years. But in 1999, Farry transferred the lease to San Antonio Com- pany, with the terms and con- ditions of the 1961 and 1997 contracts remaining applicable. In 2023, San Antonio returned the keys to the property, lead- ing to the cessation of the case against them. Kingsway argued that the continuation of the pre-1995 legal framework resulted in them being bound by an "un- fair and discriminatory" law, preventing them from receiv- ing a market-based rent and exercising full control over their property. Madam Justice Joanne Vella Cuschieri ultimately ruled in their favour, concluding that the continued application of the pre-1995 rent control reg- ulations infringed upon their property rights as enshrined in Article 1 of the First Protocol of the European Convention – the right to enjoyment of pri- vate property. The judge concluded that the discrepancy between the rent received by the plaintiff and the market rental value estab- lished by a court's technical ex- pert was disproportionate. The judge awarded pecuniary dam- ages, considering the period from 1987 until the enactment of leasing law amendments in 2021 – €55,306 for continuous rental income, and €5,000 in non-pecuniary damages. The Judge also ordered the decision to be notified to the Speaker of the Maltese Parliament. State told to fork out €60,000 to Kingsway for unfair rental laws Constitutional Court orders €60,000 in damages to be paid to Kingsway Palace owner for being unable to raise rents on pre- 1995 lease