Law Blog

In Maltese planning law, statutory time-limits are not mere formalities but essential preconditions to the exercise of jurisdiction. An appeal filed even marginally outside the prescribed time is not irregular—it is void. The rule tempus regit actum governs not only private law acts but applies with full force in administrative procedures where the right to […]

A recent decision of the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal —Justin Calleja vs l-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar (Appell 14/25JB, PA887/24, decided on 29 April 2025)—offers timely guidance on the role of technical evidence in contesting rigid interpretations of planning policy. Specifically, the case demonstrates that a swept path analysis can serve as a legally persuasive rebuttal to […]

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal’s decision in Rev. Fr. Joseph Saliba bħala Provincjal u Rev. Fr. Charles Mallia f’isem il-Kunvent tal-Karmelitani Balluta vs Awtorità tal-Ippjanar u John Cilia (Appell 489/19DMP, PA3672/19, 29 April 2025) is interesting as it confirms a foundational principle of Maltese planning law: ownership matters. Despite the increasing proceduralisation of planning […]

In the recent decision Mario Attard vs Awtorità tal-Ippjanar (App. 67/2024), the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) had occasion to revisit the delicate balance between procedural fairness and the autonomous reasoning powers of the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal. At the heart of the case was the appellant’s contention that the Tribunal had violated the […]

Can a road that was once legally schemed under the planning regime lose its status simply because it no longer appears in blue on a Local Plan map? That was the central question addressed by the Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction), presided over by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, in Scicluna Enterprises (Gozo) Ltd vs Planning […]

This is not a partisan argument. It does not take sides in Malta’s polarised political debate. It is not a defence of the citizenship-by-investment scheme or of those who supported it, and it is not an attack on those who opposed it. The sale of citizenship raises serious and complex issues, and reasonable people can […]