Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/540322
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JULY 2015
16
News
ANALYSIS • MEPA reform
JAMES DEboNo
THE new planning laws currently
being discussed in parliament will
give the Attorney General and
any "department, agency, author-
ity or other body corporate wholly
owned by the government", the
right to appeal against planning
decisions which are not to their
liking.
Presently only applicants ag-
grieved by a decision of the Malta
Environment and Planning Au-
thority, and persons or entities
who had registered their written
objections against a planning ap-
plication, can lodge an appeal
with the Environment and Plan-
ning Review Tribunal.
The Environment and Planning
Review Tribunal has the last say
in appeals presented against deci-
sions taken by the MEPA boards
and commissions.
The new law regulating the work
of the Environment and Planning
Review Tribunal considers the at-
torney general acting on behalf
of the government or any depart-
ment, agency and authority as an
"interested third party", even in
cases where these entities did not
present any written submissions
when the case was being heard by
the Planning Authority.
According to the law an inter-
ested third party has a right to
address the Tribunal and may be
requested by the parties to the ap-
peal to give evidence in the appeal
proceedings. Unless the Tribunal
decides otherwise, such an inter-
ested third party may be present
during all the sittings of the Tri-
bunal.
Moreover, the law also speci-
fies that interested third parties (a
definition which now includes the
government) do not have to prove
that they have a "juridical inter-
est" in the appeal. Interested third
parties can appeal if they "sub-
mit reasoned grounds based on
environmental and, or planning
considerations to justify their ap-
peal".
But government authorities,
which had been consulted dur-
ing the processing of an applica-
tion, can only appeal if they had
objected to the application or if
they had proposed conditions for
its approval.
This means that government
authorities like the newly formed
Environment Authority and oth-
ers like the Superintendence for
Cultural Heritage, which are reg-
ularly consulted by the Planning
Authority when applications are
processed, will be able to appeal
against permits, in cases where
they had either objected to the
development proposed or had
proposed conditions which were
not upheld by the planning board.
On the other hand government
entities which were not consulted
by the Planning Authority will be
able to appeal in any case.
In the past days Environment
Minister Leo Brincat has under-
lined the fact that the law will
enable the Malta Environment
Authority to appeal against deci-
sions taken by the planning board.
Presently the Environment Pro-
tection Directorate cannot appeal
decisions taken by the MEPA, of
which it forms an integral part.
But the new law also paves the
way for the government to appeal
against any decision which was
not to its liking, including per-
mits turned down by the Planning
Board.
Environmental NGOs are also
considered to be an "interested
party" in those cases where an
appeal is presented against an ap-
plication subjected to an Environ-
mental Impact Assessment. This
will give NGOs an automatic right
to appeal against the approval of
major projects. Presently NGOs
can only appeal in cases where
they were registered as objectors.
Tribunal to be appointed by PM
While the previous legislation
specified that the members of the
Environment and Planning Re-
view Tribunal are to be appointed
by the President on the advice of
the Prime Minister, the new law
simply states that members of the
tribunal are to be appointed by
the Prime Minister.
The President's role was sym-
bolic because constitutionally the
President cannot over rule the ad-
vice of the Prime Minister.
How new planning laws will
allow government to appe al
against any planning decision
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