Debono vs Salvino Bugeja Noe et an exercise in judicial restraint

Abstract

Following the decision of the Civil Court 1st Hall in 'Debono vs Salvino Bugeja noe et' those who are not prepared to accept the tunnel vision of the 1st Hall must be at pains to grope for a better appreciation of the problem of controlling administrative action in Malta. The Housing Secretary had issued a requisition order on a particular tenement which was duly served on Debono on the 26th March 1974. Debono had taken the tenement on lease, on the 11th March 1974 and went to live in it with his family on the 12th March. On eviction, the plaintiff retired to his private van as a protest and immediately instituted action against the Housing Secretary. He alleged that he was unlawfully evicted from his dwelling and that the alternative accommodation offered by the Housing Department was too small to live in.