Law Blog

The principle of timely objections remains  a cornerstone of procedural law, not least in proceedings before the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT). One of the most notable cases that illustrates this concept vividly is  John Vella vs L-Awtorita’ tal-Ippjanar (App. 80/22).  John Vella brought an appeal before the Court of Appeal against a decision […]

False declarations in the planning application process can lead to serious legal problems, including criminal charges (apart from the potential loss of the permit by virtue of Article 80 of the Development Planning Act if revocation procedures are initiated within 5 years from the date of the issuance of the permit) Yet, two important ideas […]

According to Article 39 of Chapter 551 of the Laws of Malta, when Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) decisions are reviewed by the courts, they should avoid re-examining the EPRT’s assessment of facts and how such facts ‘fit’ within the policy. In other words, courts will usually not overturn decisions based on factual considerations […]

Under Maltese law, when courts review decisions made by the Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT), they must limit their examination to determining whether the Tribunal’s decision is lawful (Article 39 of Chapter 551 of the Laws of Malta). Supposedly, this means they look at legality and procedural propriety, without re-checking the facts found by […]

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal (EPRT) is not a forum for rewriting the rules or questioning the validity of laws, policies, and plans. The Court of Appeal left no room for doubt in Moviment Graffitti et al. v L-Awtorita’ tal-Ippjanar u Titan Developments Limited (2024). In that case, the Court stated emphatically: “It-Tribunal m’huwiex […]