Front Żgħażagħ għall-Ambjent (FŻA) has filed a Judicial Protest before the First Hall of the Civil Court against the Planning Authority, after the Authority sanctioned penthouses associated to Gozitan property mogul Joseph Portelli in Sannat which the Court of Appeal had previously declared illegal.

"In March 2024, the Court of Appeal, presided over by the Chief Justice, had revoked two development permits (PA/2035/21 and PA/5048/20), ruling that those permits were unlawful," the group said in a statement. Despite this judgment, in August 2024 a new application (PA/5625/24) to sanction the very same penthouses that the Court had annulled was filed, the group said.

That sanctioning application was approved, the group said.

The protest denounces the Planning Authority's "flagrant disregard for the rule of law and contempt for the authority of the Courts," the group's statement said.

"FŻA's judicial protest maintains that the Planning Authority's actions are unlawful, arbitrary, and in direct breach of the rule of law. The organisation recalls the judgment in Kamra tal-Periti et vs Planning Authority et, in which Mr Justice Falzon Scerri strongly condemned the Authority's conduct, particularly its disregard for the law and proper procedure," the statement continued.