The Nationalist Party today filed for another injunction to stop the planning authority from removing its billboards after a previous injunction was revoked.

The PN had filed for a warrant of prohibitory injunction a few weeks ago, which was upheld, but then missed the 20-day deadline to file a court case. An application filed by the PA and Transport Malta was upheld today, leading to the revocation of the PN’s first injunction.

But the Nationalist Party filed another request for injunction minutes later. The request was provisionally upheld.

At the same time the PN filed an urgent application before the constitutional court, which is hearing its complaints regarding breaches to its fundamental rights, askinf for an ‘interim measure’ to stop the authorities from removing the billboards.

A few weeks back a court had ruled that the PN was justified in refusing to have its billboards removed. The situation came about after the introduction of a legal notice which says that political billboards can only be exempt from commercial fees during electoral campaigns. The PN says that the fees that it would have to pay the PA and TM during the inter-election years are prohibitive and that the changes to the law were in breach of the right to freedom of expression. 

The PL said in a statement this afternoon that PN Leader Simon Busuttil had no respect for the courts, apart from when cases were decided in his favour. It said that instead of keeping upo his negative campaign, Dr Busuttil should start respecting decisions by the country’s institutions, even if these decisions were not the ones he wished for.