A woman yesterday filed a writ in the First Hall of the Civil Court in its Constitutional jurisdiction over expropriated land in Marsa.

Inez Saveria filed the writ against the Attorney General, the Lands Commissioner and the Malta Transport Authority. The woman said she is the proprietor of a piece of land in Marsa, known as Tal-Palma and in 1973 was told that part of the land was to be expropriated to accommodate the 13 December Road. This all went ahead, and as yet, the woman has received no compensation for the land which was used for the project.

Two years later, the government expropriated another piece of land to lay down Racecourse Street, and again no compensation was issued. The complainant also said that in 2006, it was established that instead of compensation for occupation, the complainant would only be entitled to interest indicated on the Notice to Treat, and not on the actual value of the land, and such interest rate was established at five per cent. Mrs Saveria claimed that if this practice goes ahead, it would be in breach of her fundamental human rights.

She therefore requested the court to declare that such practice would be in breach of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and the Maltese Constitution and for the government to pay for the land in question at current market prices.