Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/895147
maltatoday WEDNESDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2017 News 7 By a decree of the Rent Regulation Board of 21st December, 2016, the publication of the following banns which appears hereunder was ordered for the purpose of service in terms of Article 931(3) of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure (Cap. 12). Bann for Curators Republic of Malta To the Court Marshall By a decree given by the Rent Regulation Board on the 21st December, 2016, on the application of Gaetano Cassar it was ordered that Deputy Curators be chosen to represent the unknown heirs of the deceased Joseph and Eva Mercieca in the lawsuit number 122/2016 JD in the names Gaetano Cassar vs deputy curators and in all other relative and subsequent acts whereby Gaetano Cassar demanded: That the applicant has been renting the bar with the name The Melbourne Bar at 107, Triq Luqa Briffa in the locality of Zejtun for a number of years; The applicant used to rent this bar from the deceased Joseph and Eva spouses Mercieca; That when Joseph and Eva spouses Mercieca died, the applicant remained the lessee of the said bar, and he continued renting it from the children of the spouses Mercieca; In the year 2014 when the applicant sought to renew the licence for spirits for the said bar he was notified that the lessors have not paid the spirits licence; Although the lessors were solicited by the applicant to pay the licence they remained in default with the consequence that applicant could not open the bar; The lessors failed to pay for the spirits licence without any valid reason at law; As a result the applicant has been prejudiced since the new lessors failed to continue paying the licence for spirits from the shop; This notwithstanding, the applicant kept on paying the rent twice a year and this by depositing the said rent in the Registry of the Court and Civil Tribunal by means of a schedule of deposit; Thus, the applicant humbly requests this Honorable Board to order the defandants to pay the spirits licence of the bar in Zejtun and this within a short and peremptory time fixed by this Board, and this under those provisions which this Honourable Board deems fit and appropriate. With costs and the defandants are hereby summoned so that a reference to their oath can be made Gaetano Cassar, 6, Saint Mary, Triq Santa Faustina, Żejtun You are therefore ordered to post an official copy of these banns in the entrance of this Court and call upon whoever wishes to act as curator to appear within six days in this registry and files a note with a declaration that he is prepared to act as such. You are also ordered to inform every one that if there is no such declaration within the stipulated time, this court will proceed to the selection of curators of office. After so acting, or if you should encounter any difficulty in the execution of the said banns, you are to inform forthwith this Court. Given by the aforementioned Rent Regulation Board with the witness of Dr Josette Demicoli, LLD, Doctor of Laws, Magistrate of the above mentioned Board. Today 21st December, 2016 Registry of the Superior Courts, today 13th January, 2017. ALEXANDRA DEBATTISTA For the Registrar, Civil Courts and Tribunals CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 In his motion, Said requested that the Prime Minister ap- point a board of inquiry, in accordance with the Inquir- ies Act, led by three retired judges "known for their in- tegrit y and honest y", with one serving as a chairman, that are agreed upon by a two-thirds majorit y in the House of Representatives. The board would be tasked with: 1. Investigating the behaviour of public officials and officials employed with any entit y established at law. 2. Investigating the leadership of every Govern- ment department or any entit y established at law, in- cluding but not limited to, the Police Corps, the Office of the Attorney General and the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit, and others. 3. Examining every- thing else falling under the functions or the responsi- bilit y of any department or entit y, that is related to, or impacts, Government ser- vices. 4. Determining acts of corruption, abuse of power or other crimes committed by the aforementioned indi- viduals, and any shortcom- ings committed by these individuals and entities in carrying out their duties ac- cording to the law. 5. Making recommen- dations deemed necessary and opportune based on the conclusions of the Board. According to the motion, each of the above terms of reference should be inves- tigated in the light of alle- gations made by Caruana Galizia in relation to each of the mentioned individu- als or entities. In his motion, Said stressed that the Board should be given all the resources nec- essary in order to carry out its investigation. Moreover, the motion states that the Board should be given full access to any object, document, report, information, evidence, file, computer, programme or electronic data in the Gov- ernment or any of its de- partments' possession, in- cluding the Police Corps, the AG's office, and the FIAU. Upon its conclusion, the motion states that a final re- port should be presented to the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House by not later than six months from today, and should be pub- lished immediately. Labour Party reaction Reacting to the motion, the Labour Part y said in a statement that "it would have been better had Chris Said 's motion for an inves- tigation into Daphne Caru- ana Galizia's allegations, been sent directly to the PN leader, Adrian Delia, since it is clearly directed at him". The Labour Part y said that at moments like this, it would be wise for one to let the magistrate investigate and do his work. Moreover, the part y noted that on the initiative of Si- mon Busuttil, there are a number of inquiries under- way that are similar to what the motion is requesting. "Above all, the Prime Minister himself asked the courts to appoint an inde- pendent magistrate to in- vestigate the false allega- tions made against him and his family," read the state- ment. "The only investigation that is missing is that into the leader of the Opposition, Adrian Delia, who rushed to drop his libel cases." The Labour Part y said it seemed as though, as was expected, "one of Adrian Delia's companions" had now done this instead. It added that it was look- ing forward to the discus- sion in parliament regard- ing the motion. Inquiry should be headed by three retired judges, Said claims AMY MICALLEF DECESARE IN an effort to reduce food wastage, which in Europe alone amounts to about 88 million tonnes per year, France banned supermarkets from throw- ing away unsold food. Can the same be done in Malta? In February 2016, the French parliament voted unanimously to fine supermarkets up to €75,000 (or two years in pris- on) if they refused to donate the food to charities or food banks instead. The law was applauded by many, including mayor of Val- letta and senior lecturer Dr Alexei Dingli, who attempted to have the law passed locally. Though the initial proposal did not gather momentum, Malta's National Youth Council (KNZ) have brought it up again, call- ing for "both a legislative and cultural change". Malta Today caught up with Dingli, as well as others in- volved in the process to get an idea of what would be involved. According to Dingli, a com- plete implementation of the law would occur in three phases. Phase one The first phase involves NGO employees visiting supermar- kets themselves and collecting food, which is nearing its sell by date. When asked if NGOs and food banks could be turned away, Dingli said "all super- markets have food which would usually goes to waste". "There are no excuses", he added. Phase two The second phase has more of a long-term scope, as it in- volves food with special stor- age requirements, such as fro- zen items. In order for phase two to come into effect, the government and NGOs would need to agree on something more "centralized", said Dingli. Phase three The third and final phase is the most complex, as it in- volves cooked and restaurant food. In collaboration with the en- vironment minister and presi- dent Marie Louise Coleiro Preca, the first phrase is being discussed, said Dingli. Though he could not confirm when it would be implement- ed, he is certain that it will happen. "I hope that in the future we won't need food banks, but as long as we do, it's a priority to keep making progress", he said. Food banks and shelters dis- tributed all over the island could not praise the initiative enough. "I think it's a brilliant idea", said Ernest, who works at Dar Papa Frangisku in Birkirkara. "I understand that it's a com- plex process and a lot needs to be discussed and worked out properly, but I would be very worried if it didn't happen in the near future", he added. On the other side of the coin there are, as with everything else, a few concerns. However, the concerns are not about the law but rather, how fast it can be implemented. "I worry that only prelimi- nary discussions have taken place so far and nothing has been decided yet", said Er- nest. "Though that's good, is it enough?" Charles Miceli, an anti- poverty campaigner shone a light on the current situation in Malta and emphasized just how crucial this law and simi- lar ones are for those who need care and assistance. "The reality is that though in this economy, many people are doing well, we cannot forget that there are many others who are falling by the wayside". Many tend to turn their noses up at the needy, claiming that they should just "get to work". But "have you considered those who are simply unable to work? Such as the elderly and foreign- ers who cannot find jobs". Miceli said that the law would be yet another "step in the right direction" as under the current government, many food banks and shelters have been opened and initiatives taken, such as the distribution of food vouchers. "I agree 100% with the prin- ciple of supermarkets donat- ing their unsold food… we are definitely making progress", he said. Calls for anti-food wastage legislation intensify