The Court of Appeal has rejected court applications which were filed by Steward Healthcare and the government in their appeal against a decision which considered the hospitals' concession agreement null and void, MaltaToday reported.

The court issued decrees rejecting Steward's plea for a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice, as the court ruled that it was unnecessary for the Maltese court to make a decision on the appeal.

Steward's request to present new evidence was also turned down by the court, as it deemed the documents in question irrelevant to the merits of the initial court's ruling.

The court also turned down a third application filed by the Prime Minister, the Attorney General, INDIS Malta Ltd, the Lands Authority, and the Chairman of the Board of Governors. Although the court noted that there was an evident disagreement between the government and Steward concerning the validity of the notice of termination, the judges clarified that their role was not to determine the notice's validity, ultimately dismissing the request.

In their appeal application, Steward said that the decision by the court of first instance raised significant concerns about the rule of law in Malta and could have severe implications for future foreign investments in the country.

The Nationalist Party expressed its satisfaction with the Court's decisions. It said that PN will continue to appeal that justice is served and in the end the money is returned to the Maltese people.

"It is good to recall that the sentence given last February by the Civil Court had declared that the concession for the management of the Gozo General Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, and Karin Grech Hospital was tainted with fraud at every stage of the process."