Dragonara's court action over casino concession award was time-barred, Appeals Court rules

Dragonara Gaming, which holds a 10-year concession on the Dragonara Casino in St Julian’s, had contested the award of a new casino license to the Eden Leisure Group claiming its cash offer was much higher than the winning bidder.

Dragonara had challenged the Privatisation Unit’s decision and in a ruling handed down almost a year ago, the First Hall of the Civil Court had found for Dragonara.

The decision was appealed by the Eden Leisure Group and other government entities. The Privatisation Unit insisted that Dragonara should have contested the award of the tender within six months and not a year after.

The Court of Appeal, presided by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, Judge Tonio Mallia and Judge Joseph Azzopardi, upheld the argument filed by Eden Leisure's co-defendants, the Economy Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Privatisation Unit, ruling that Dragonara's action was time-barred.

In a 22-page judgment, the Court of Appeal said that the government’s actions were administrative in nature and proceedings for the -eview of administrative actions were time barred by the lapse of six months from the date the interested party becomes aware of the situation.

The court observed that the plaintiff should not have allowed almost a year to pass before filing the case despite having known about the decision the day after it was taken.

The Court of Appeal abstained from taking further cognisance of the case, ruling it time-barred.