The impact of planning and environmental legislation on the rights of ownership.

Abstract

This thesis purports to analyse the true import of the Civil Law right of ownership in relation to significant inroads deriving from Planning and Environmental Legislation, including relevant development plan policies. The Introductory part of this thesis suggests that the concept of Private Property, although a civil law institute, is not neutral to the socio-economic and political context. The implications of this assertion challenge a predominantly traditional civil law background which rests upon a presumably absolute and exclusive right of ownership. Land ownership is not just a question of enjoying and disposing of one's own possession as one deems fit. Chapter 1 will gradually analyse the owner's exercise of his right in relation to the development permission granting process. The control on the right of ownership in the private and public interest will be discussed in Chapter 2. The nature of a plan-led system, and the practical delimitations arising from the same are reviewed in Chapter 3. The impact on the territory, a value both for the owner and for society at large, is intrinsic of the requirement for development permission. The conditions for obtaining such permission can become more burdensome in relation to particular property. Ownership is a multi-faceted right varying according to the attributes of the object on which it is exercised. Chapter 4 deals with cultural property and the policy presumptions that contradict the traditional ius abutendi. Chapter 5 analyses the extent of civil and administrative legal protection that is afforded to the environment. Ownership of every aspect of the definition of the environment is redefined. In principle, Civil Law should not be neutral to environmental considerations. However, in this case, some aspects of the law of property need some reshaping. In conclusion this thesis attempts to carry out a tangible comprehensive analysis of the rights of the Maltese owner according to the impact of the alternatives deriving from the public law sphere within the boundaries of the law.