The civil court yesterday ruled in favour of Mr Mintoff after he had filed an application against then Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami and then Enemalta chairman Joseph Ellul Vincenti, listing the reasons why the building of the power station so close to his house breached his fundamental human rights.

In April 1995, the constitutional court had already ruled in favour of Mr Mintoff and all that was left to be decided was the amount of compensation he was to be given.

The court had ruled that the rights of Mr Mintoff and his wife had been violated, in that they were not allowed to enjoy their possession, in this case, their home.

In a previous hearing, a Constitutional Court had claimed that, prior to the building of the power station, Mr Mintoff and his wife had enjoyed a peaceful and natural environment that was eventually destroyed.

The 250-metre-tall chimney regularly emits toxic fumes, which is the most serious among the problems caused by the power station’s proximity to Mr Mintoff’s residence.

These factors contributed to the property’s depreciation and its subjective value was completely destroyed for the owner, the court had said. In fact, the couple did not use the residence regularly after the power station was built. In 1998, the Maltese Government agreed to compensate Mr & Mrs Mintoff for the damage they had suffered and were still suffering. They were offered a piece of land in Fawwara, together with Lm4,950, although this arrangement eventually fell through.

Several other settlements were offered, but none were accepted. Due to this, the court was in a position to decide what the adequate compensation should be.

The court emphasised that the fact that the power station was built next to his residence affects Mr Mintoff to this day. It ruled that the court should not only consider the value of the property, but also the inconvenience caused to Mr Mintoff over the years, especially considering he can no longer use his Delimara property as his home.

During the course of the proceedings, Mr Mintoff has received certain amounts of money in compensation and these should be deducted from the global amount due to him, the court ruled.

The court claimed the value of the Delimara property is virtually negligible and it cannot be used as a residence. Because of this, it ordered the government to pay Mr Mintoff Lm360,000 in compensation for the breaching of his fundamental human rights.

The court was presided over by Mr Justice Gino Camilleri. Dr Peter Grech appeared for the prime minister, Dr J. J. Vella represented Enemalta and Dr Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici appeared for Mr Mintoff.