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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 2016 Out of courtesy to the court that is hearing the case filed by Robert Hornyold-Strickland against Professor J.M. Ganado as testamentary executor of the late Mabel Strickland and against the Strickland Foundation, we choose not, at this stage, to reply to what Hornyold-Strickland wrote in his one-page reply to your law report of January 3, 2016, which reply was ostensibly meant to correct what he described as certain inac- curacies in your law report. However, we feel that it is rele- vant for your readers to learn what the relevant parts of the public deed setting up The Strickland Foundation and Miss Strickland's testamentary will state as the validity of the respective deed and will are not in contestation. It is then for the court to deter- mine the interpretation of certain provisions of the deed and of the will and not for your correspond- ent. Miss Strickland established The Strickland Foundation by public deed in 1979. The first article establishes the seat of the founda- tion at Villa Parisio. The founda- tion is a public benefit organiza- tion, administered by a council of administration. Miss Strickland established the foundation 'to be of service to the people of Malta by helping the de- velopment of freedom of thought and expression which, through a free press, is essential to the main- tenance of democracy and basic for the proper development of a country'. Its aims include to help improve the standard of Maltese jour- nalism and the preservation of its freedom and independence, and to uphold the European and Mediterranean character of Malta and to support Malta's continued presence in the Commonwealth. Hundreds of people have ben- efited from activities organised by the foundation at Villa Parisio and elsewhere. These have ranged from talks and seminars to spe- cialized courses in journalism. The foundation has also given financial assistance in various forms for purposes falling under the objectives of the foundation, and has also financed an intern- ship scheme for journalists. Miss Strickland bequeathed in legacy to The Strickland Founda- tion through her testamentary will Villa Parisio in Lija, includ- ing all the contents thereof with the exception of gold, silver, and other precious articles, sums of money, bank books, bound books and other documents of title and stock; and a number of shares in Allied Newspapers Limited. She also bequeathed by title of legacy to her heir Robert Hornyold-Strickland, who is her great-nephew, "the right of use and habitation of the guest rooms with bathroom and study at Villa Parisio provided that the enjoy- ment of such right shall in no way interfere with the work of the foundation". It is therefore regrettable that Hornyold-Strickland views any ac- tivity or presence of the Founda- tion at Villa Parisio as tantamount to some form of harassment or infringement of his rights. Ronald Agius Acting Chairman, The Strickland Foundation 26 Letters News • 12 February 2006 THE Attorney General's office is drafting amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Ordi- nance to allow magistrates more discretion on sentencing offenders to mandatory im- prisonment accused of drug possession and trafficking when their actions denote they were actually "sharing" drugs with fellow us- ers. Home Affairs and Justice Minister To- nio Borg told MaltaToday a report by the parliamentary social affairs committee on amending the drug laws had vindicated his stand in favour of granting more discretion to magistrates when dealing with offenders whose possession of drugs indicated they are for their personal use. Currently anyone found guilty of drug traf- ficking, which also includes "sharing" drugs with other users, is subject to a mandatory six-month imprisonment at minimum. The parliamentary committee has taken on suggestions to allow magistrates the discre- tion to waive the mandatory prison sentence on cases of drug sharing. In November 2004, Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera called for amendments to the drug laws after expressing regret at being un- able to place an offending minor under pro- bation, after the accused was found sharing drugs with friends. The parliamentary com- mittee has acknowledged that the court was "bound to apply a sentence it was against, where it felt the mandatory prison sentence was more detrimental to the individual." Agencies fighting drug abuse claim the re- moval of incrimination for "sharing" increas- es the chances of survival for accidental over- dose victims, who are frequently dumped outside hospitals rather than taken directly into emergency by fellow users, for fear they will be imprisoned for having shared drugs with the victim. Although agencies fighting drug abuse have called for a legal distinction between trafficking and sharing, there has been no agreement with the police force about what constitutes sharing. The police have opposed the introduction of the term. A parliamentary committee led by Nation- alist MP Clyde Puli has agreed that magis- trates should have "limited discretion" in waiving imprisonment for offenders found to have been "sharing" drugs with other us- ers. Tonio Borg told MaltaToday he had always been in favour of granting more discretion "within certain parameters" to magistrates in dealing with drug cases. "As far back as 1999, this ministry had pi- loted a bill to eliminate mandatory imprison- ment for possession of drugs commensurate with personal use… the relative amendment is being drafted by the Attorney General's office although it will be included in a com- prehensive bill which will deal with several matters related to criminal justice." Borg said he has promised to give a copy of the amendment to the Opposition spokes- person before presenting it in Parliament. "I hope we shall have a fruitful debate and that the bill be passed as soon as possible. The committee is in agreement that sharing should not be punished in the same absolute way as trafficking and that discretion should be granted to the presiding magistrate in cases of 'sharing'." Malta delays closure of trapping season Send your letters to: The Editor, MaltaToday, MediaToday Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann SGN 9016 | Fax: (356) 21 385075 E-mail: newsroom@mediatoday.com.mt. Letters to the Editor should be concise. No pen names are accepted. Maduma 'heirloom' for Busuttil Opposition leader Si- mon Busuttil has once again said he wants to draw a line over the PN's past. At the same time we all saw him waving and kissing a f lag given to him by an elderly woman who told him that the Maltese f lag with the PN emblem printed on it, was 100 years old –which was proven to have been incorrect. Dr Busuttil said that he would be keeping the f lag with the PN's emblem in his office so that he will be seeing it every day when he enters his office. And that this will serve to inspire him in his work for the party. Is this how Busuttil aims to cut himself off from the PN's past? Go figure. Eddy Privitera Mosta On Mabel Strickland's will