The minutes taken during public meetings of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority are public documents and should be accessible to members of the public who request to see them or ask for a copy, the Ombudsman has ruled.

The Ombudsman was handing down his decision in a case filed by Joe Sant on behalf of the committee against the proposed development of the Sant’Antnin waste recycling plant.

Mr Sant filed his case before the Ombudsman, Chief Justice Emeritus Joseph Said Pullicino, after the Mepa chairman decided not to grant permission for the committee to be given a copy of the minutes. However, during his investigations it transpired that the chairman had actually given the committee permission to consult the files of the case.

Mr Sant complained that the minutes were needed because the committee was intending to appeal the Mepa board’s decision and therefore needed to consult the minutes in order to see what was and what was not said during the board meeting when the development application was given the go-ahead.

The Ombudsman ruled against Mr Sant’s argument that the refusal to grant a copy of the minutes prejudiced the committee’s case. He said the appeal had to be filed on the decision and not on the minutes.

Moreover, in his decision, the Ombudsman also delved into the principle on whether or not minutes of public meetings of an authority such as Mepa are and should be of public domain.

The Ombudsman said that while Mepa had the freedom to regulate its proceedings, this should be carried out in the most transparent manner and should always respect the right to a fair hearing. On the meeting’s minutes, the Ombudsman ruled that these were of public domain and the public or any interested party, should have access to these documents, including the documents which formed part of the case file.

He therefore recommended that Mepa should regulate what should and what should not be included in the minutes of board meetings and have these documents available for public scrutiny. He said it was the chairman’s prerogative to decide what should be included in the minutes and it should not be left to the board secretary to decide what should be included and what should be left out.