MEPA gets new ‘part-time’ appeals board to handle 500-case backlog

The Malta Environment and Planning Authority now has two appeal boards instead of one after the new government appointed a new "part- time" board, which includes a Labour candidate and the newly appointed Freeport chairman to complement the full-time board appointed by the previous government in 2011.

The government said the new board was a way to address the backlog of 500 cases awaiting a decision  which faces the Tribunal. This is part of the government's commitment to "reduce bureaucracy".

The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal has the last say in appeals presented against decisions taken by the MEPA boards and commissions. The new panel includes among its members Labour candidate and lawyer Simon Micallef Stafrace and newly appointed Freeport chairman Robert Sarsero, an architect who was responsible for the Cottonera marina. Sarsero is listed as a shareholder Arkea Projects and Main Properties Ltd.

Planner Martin Saliba, a former team manager within the development services of MEPA who has worked in MEPA since its inception in 1992, will chair the new board.

The new part-time board will complement an existing board composed of architect Chris Falzon as chairperson, Dr Ramon Rossignaud and architect Jevon Vella, who were engaged on a full-time basis for four years by MEPA in 2011.

Back then, MEPA announced that the board was contracted on a full-time basis "to further enhance the efficiency and consistency of MEPA's decision-making process" and to avoid conflicts of interest.

Potential conflicts of interest

Under the new board, however, the members are being appointed on a part-time basis and will be able to continue exercising their professions. However, they will be expected to abstain from any case in which they may have a conflict of interest, which they will have to declare.

A spokesperson for Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia explained that panel members "serving on an ad hoc or part-time basis to assist the current Tribunal" were never prohibited from practising private work. "On the same wavelength, part-time appointees may likewise practise private work. Naturally, they would be required to declare any conflict of interest (if the case arises) and abstain from hearing cases where they are in some way involved."

In such cases, where a board member has to abstain from a particular case, the Tribunal members can be replaced by the newly appointed 'substitute members' on the new board. These include Dr Andy Ellul, a lawyer who made a testimonial for Parliamentary Secretary Michael Farrugia before the last election and architects Claude Mallia and Ludovico Micallef, a vice-president of the Malta Football Association.

500-case backlog

Farrugia's spokesperson justified the creation of the new board due to the incumbent Tribunal's backlog: 500 cases pending a final decision and another 500 commenced proceedings.

The backlog also includes a number of new cases filed recently, apart from other cases which have been referred back from the Court of Appeal and which have not yet been appointed.

"This is creating an untenable situation where the date between subsequent hearings is taking months. Even more so, the timeframe between the last formal hearing and the final decision typically takes a number of months."

The spokesperson referred to the PL's electoral commitment to fight bureaucracy and secure a faster planning process. "It is unacceptable, to say the least, for an applicant to await nine months for a planning decision to be delivered. The aim of the appointment of a new panel is to ensure a "better distribution of caseload and a speedier planning process. In this way the incumbent Tribunal is now in a position to "deliver those current cases pending decision within a shorter timeframe".

Role of the Tribunal

The Planning Review Tribunal is a quasi-judicial body independent of MEPA hears and determine all appeals made anyone aggrieved by any decision of the Authority on any matter related to permits and enforcement.

The law drafted by the previous government stipulates that the Tribunal has to consist of three members, one being a person versed in environment or development planning, who will preside, and a lawyer and an architect, each of whom shall be appointed by the president acting on the advice of the minister.

The law states that chairman and the members of the tribunal will not be subject to the control or direction of any other person or authority, and may be removed from office by the President acting on the advice of the minister for the reasons provided for in article 97(2) of the constitution, which applies for the removal of members of the judiciary.

The law also allows the President on the advice of the Minister responsible for MEPA to appoint different panels to serve in this post. This makes the appointment of the new board perfectly legal.