Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar has officially replied with an extensive submission to the public consultation on the declassification of public domain.

FAA said in a statement that it, “strongly condemns the fact that this so-called ‘consultation’ whose consequences could annul the Public Domain law, was issued with no publicity, during the festive period, in the thick of the abortion debate, and after the Planning Authority had just granted permits on the Qawra Public Domain sites.”

In a summary of the submission FAA said that the concept of Public Domain is very old and derives from Roman Law where it was called res communes. In Malta this concept has been in existence for hundreds of years but was only codified in the Civil Code in 2016.

“The case for this law had been made by Government in a White Paper titled The Public Domain Classifying Public Property – Achieving a Qualitative Leap in Protection and Governance and published in 2012,” FAA said.

It pointed out that the case for declassification has to be made by the party proposing this declassification, that is the Minister responsible for Lands and the Planning Authority which is acting on his behalf. However contrary to what is required by the Civil Code Schedule Three, Title VI section 11, “in the two declassifications being requested, the case is not being made.”

The motivation stated by the Planning Authority “The main purpose of this request is to proceed with projects which will serve both private and public interests,” is too generic FAA said “and hence meaningless. This does not allow the public to consider the matter in any detail.”

FAA said that it considers that this motivation is so “wide that it can apply to anything and any site in the Maltese Islands and would set an ugly precedent for the declassification of all Public Domain sites.”

It stressed that practically any site in Malta can have projects or developments that “serve both private and public interests”. Allowing this would render the concept of Public Domain as “meaningless and no longer extra commercium.”

“Any private titles and rights to the foreshore shall be registered in the relevant registry in accordance with applicable law prior to the lapse of ten years from the designated date. Any person enjoying an existing title or right over land in the public domain shall register such title or right with reference to the specific land,” FAA said.

“The private title or right no longer has any value if the person who owns it does not register or claim a procedure for his right.”

FAA maintained that this public consultation is a “sham and the Planning Authority launched it without any publicity during the Christmas holiday period and the abortion debate in order for this to pass under that radar.”

According to FAA this declassification proposal is also against the letter and spirit of Article 9 of the Constitution of Malta which requires the State to:

“9.(1) The State shall safeguard the landscape and the historical and artistic patrimony of the Nation. (2) The State shall protect and conserve the environment and its resources for the benefit of the present and future generations and shall take measures to address any form of environmental degradation in Malta, including that of air, water and land, and any sort of pollution problem and to promote, nurture and support the right of action in favour of the environment.”

“This is the highest law of the country and is being ignored by the Minister responsible for Lands and the Planning Authority,” FAA. “With this proposal the State is not protecting or conserving the environment for the present generation, let alone future generations.”

It is ironic that since the law was enacted, the first implementation is declassification, and not the promised addition of sites to the Public Domain, it said.

FAA said that it has proposed some 22 additional sites but despite the Government’s claimed intention in the White Paper, only one has been included in the Public Domain.

“The justification for the declassification has not been made and the public is being kept in the dark as to the purpose of the declassification contrary to the letter and spirit of the law. Consequently Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar can only condemn the proposed declassification,” it said.

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