A deal reached between the Maltese government, the Lands Authority and the hunters’ federation FKNK for the latter to administer land at Miżieb and l-Aħrax areas as hunting reserves, has been declared illegal by a Court of Appeal.

The decision was taken by Mr Justice Wenzu Mintoff after NGOs’ objections to the FKNK land deal had been dismissed by the Administrative Review Tribunal back in January 2022.

Mintoff ruled that the 9 October 2020 deal signed between the State and the FKNK was “null and without effect” because it had not been carried out according to the formalities of the law in force.

The Appeals Court said the Lands Authority had no right at law to concede to the FKNK a “personal right” to manage these sites without a formal process mandated by law.

“The law regulates property transfers by sale, emphyteusis, rent, or part-exchange...

“The Tribunal had to determine whether the agreement qualified as a ‘rental’, and whether this was itself justified at law, that is for humanitarian, philantropic, cultural or social reasons. In the absence of such justification, the concession is deemed null and without effect.”

Mr Justice Mintoff used the Tribunal’s same reasoning, when it observed that hunting in Malta was an emotive issue for many, to say that the Lands Authority was indeed expected to have made a more rigorous examination as to whether these countryside parcels could be therefore entrusted to the FKNK within the parameters of the law.

The Lands Authority granted the guardianship of the two woodlands to the FKNK in a deed secretly signed between the government and the organisation in October last year. The two sprawling sites are traditional hunting grounds but also popular as recreational areas.

The case was filed by BirdLife Malta, Moviment Graffitti, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Friends of the Earth (Malta), Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar and the Ramblers Association, and were represented by lawyer Dr Claire Bonello.

The NGOs said that EU law was breached when the government failed to conduct any of the required studies in order to determine and evaluate the environmental impacts of such a large concession.

They also said that EU law was also not followed when the public was not allowed to participate in the drafting of the resulting management plans due to the fact that the agreement was negotiated in secret.

The NGOs said the concession of these two areas for a the risible sum of €400 in order to entertain hunting pastimes would result in lost revenue which should have been accrued towards the Environment Fund.

Reacting to the judgment, the eNGOs said it "is a historic win for social justice and nature, and sends a clear message to the Government that political will can only be implemented within the legal parameters."

BirdLife Malta, Din L-Art Ħelwa, Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti, Ramblers’ Association of Malta and Professor Edward Mallia said they are immensely satisfied that this Court case has been won and that justice in favour of the people of Malta and nature has prevailed.

Lawyers Dr Claire Bonello, Dr Joseph Ellis and Dr Martin Farrugia were able to show the Courts of Malta how unfair and illegal this secret agreement was, where the large stretches of land at l-Aħrax and Miżieb were to be enjoyed only by a few hundred hunters during the long months of hunting seasons in Malta, to the detriment of the general public.

Now that the deal has been annulled by the Courts, the five eNGOs demand that the Government accepts this judgement and declares immediately that all this land is a public area all year round.

The eNGOs also demand that the Government pays attention to the general demands, from all strata of our society, to protect nature and conserve our open spaces.

Now is the time to show true commitment to this value. BirdLife Malta, Din L-Art Ħelwa, Friends of the Earth Malta, Moviment Graffitti and Ramblers’ Association of Malta, along with various other supporting NGOs will remain committed to fight at all cost against the injustices towards nature and people.

“Today we celebrate a big win, but continue working hard for more,” the eNGOs said.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party said it had been right to contest the deal when the agreement had been signed.

This confirmed how arrogant the government had been, the PN said.

In a short statement, the government said that it had taken note of the court sentence.

The government said that the Mizieb and Ahrax reserves have been administered by the FKNK since the 1980s and that the agreement, which they noted had been published in full, had the aim to regulate what had been happening for a long time.

“The government notes the court’s decision,” the statement concludes.