The action for damages under Art.469A (Chapter 12) and under government liability : an analysis

Abstract

This present study attempts to examine the instances and capacity under which public authorities and the government may be sued by the ordinary citizen who alleges to have suffered damages. In accordance with Maltese law public authorities and the government may be sued under two respective actions which are often mistaken as one and the same. Public authorities and the government may be sued under two different spheres of law ossia Administrative Law and Civil Law, the former sphere enables the administration to be sued for allegedly performing illegal and ultra vires acts whereas the latter sphere of law enables the government to be sued under ordinary civil law provisions of contract and tort. This dissertation focuses on the actions of governmental liability in tort and the action of judicial review of an administrative act. By examining the foundation, application and ramification of the respective actions through a series of relative court judgements, the author attempts to provide a comprehensible distinction between the two actions following a comparative analysis of findings. Lastly, the concluding remarks were summarised and discussed along with implementations which in the author’s opinion may strike a fair balance between the damage inflicted and the compensation awarded meaning the element of proportionality and fairness in respect to the compensation of damages awarded by the Maltese courts. This by virtue of a legislative proposal to amend Article 469A(5) of the COCP to eliminate the unfair prejudice, in regard to compensation for damages, on the injured party.