Verbal submissions by lawyers representing Charles Polidano and the Attorney General were made in front of the Court of Appeal this morning, as Mr Polidano contests the €100,000 fine imposed in 2013 relating to a demolished rubble wall and the cutting down of trees in Balzan.
In 2013, Polidano Group was found guilty of breaches of environmental protection and planning laws, following the discovery that he cut down trees prior to MEPA’s refusal of the application in 2009.
The MEPA application would have seen the group build 43 apartments, an underground car park able to hold 121 cars and restore two houses. The MEPA board held that such construction would have overdeveloped Balzan’s open spaces.
Lead Defence Lawyer Michael Sciriha claimed that the defence had exhibited documents proving that the property belong to Balzan Estates Ltd, and not Mr Polidano personally, stating that the previous court ignored this.
He added that, through that sentence, citizens are at risk of “being found guilty without valid reasons being invoked and without procedures being followed”. “The court did not appreciate that silence on the part of the accused is itself a contestation, a right guaranteed by the constitution, the principle that he who alleges must prove the case and produce the best possible evidence” Dr Sciriha argued. He added that the prosecution did not provide the necessary witnesses to prove their case. He also said that the prosecution did not provide evidence as to who the workers were employed by,
The lawyer said that the events occurred at different times than were evident on the charge sheet.
AG lawyer Lara Lanfranco stated that the timeline written within the charges never claimed to be exact. She argued that should the Defence not bring witnesses or arguments to back up their position does not help their cause.
She argued that every document presented indicated that Mr Polidano was the director in charge of the company who handled the works, however admitted that no MFSA document had been presented.
As for the workers’ connection to Mr Polidano, Dr Lanfranco said that a witness had testified seeing Mr Polidano on site and that Mr Polidano’s reaction to news that his workers were destroying trees was “I will stop everything”.
She stated that the punishment was not excessive, with some offences holding the possibility of harsher punishment.
Dr Sciriha asked how lawyers can construe ownership through a Mepa application, stating that such a link is established through searches within the public registry and through contracts.