Judge Carol Peralta filed a Constitutional application over an application for the expropriation of land belonging to himself and others for building development.

Mr Justice Peralta, Chief Justice of the United Nation’s Kosovo Mission, said that he and others owned land in Balluta. Developers, he said, bought another piece of land only a couple of months after the local plan had changed in 2006. The same local plan also made drastic changes to the permits which were on offer to develop the land owned by Mr Justice Peralta. The new owners of the land adjacent to Mr Justice Peralta’s said they would file for expropriation and offered Lm80,000 in return.

The complainants said that the developers Christopher Grech, Norman Spiteri and architect Joseph Bondin’s project was set to be worth Lm7.5 million and was already being advertised through Dhalia’s sales team as apartments and garages on plan.

The complainant said that his and others’ fundamental human right to develop on their own land was being impinged on in an effort to accommodate third parties. He also said that it went against the Maltese Constitution and requested the court to order compensation.

Dr Louise Anne Pulis and legal procurator Peter Sammut filed the application on his behalf.