These proceedings were initiated by the French authorities following the maritime incident involving the Maltese registered vessel Erika close to the coast of Brittany in December 1999.

The Court of Appeal in Paris ruled that the MMA is an extension of the Maltese State and thus the Administration of the Malta Flag is covered by States’ “immunity of jurisdiction”.

Investigations relating to the Erika incident were conducted by French Magistrate Dominique de Talance. The Erika, an Italian owned oil tanker of some 37,000 deadweight tons, broke in half on 12 December 1999, polluting 400 kilometres of the French coastline with its cargo of heavy fuel oil.

The chairman of the Malta Maritime Authority, Dr Marc Bonello and Mr Vassallo expressed their

satisfaction at this decision taken by the French Court of Appeal.

Despite the general conviction that MMA’s and Mr Vassallo’s conduct were correct, responsible and professional – as was confirmed by the

conclusions of various technical inquiries into the

incident – the government acted strongly to protect the sovereignty of the State of Malta, its entities and their officials and had always maintained that according to International Law, the French Courts did not have the necessary jurisdiction to press charges. This was affirmed by the French Court of Appeal in no uncertain terms.

The MMA and the Maltese authorities cooperated extensively with the French authorities in the investigation of this casualty.

Dr Bonello and Mr Vassallo also expressed their appreciation for the government’s support, particularly from Minister Censu Galea and Dr Anthony Borg Barthet, who was Attorney General at the time.

MMA and Mr Vassallo were assisted by Dr Franco Vassallo of the legal firm Mamo TCV, together with his French colleagues Renard and Associates.