FOURTH SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 43868/21
Joseph ZAMMIT and Anna BUSUTTIL
against Malta

The European Court of Human Rights (Fourth Section), sitting on 21 November 2024 as a Committee composed of:

Anne Louise Bormann, President,
Sebastian Răduleţu,
András Jakab, judges,

and Viktoriya Maradudina, Acting Deputy Section Registrar,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 31 August 2021,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a friendly settlement of the case,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

The applicants’ details are set out in the appended table. The applicants were represented by Dr N. DeBono, a lawyer practising in Valletta.

The applicants’ complaint under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention concerning a unilaterally imposed lease under Act XXIII of 1979 amending Chapter 158 of the Laws of Malta, affecting the applicants’ property in Paola, was communicated to the Maltese Government (“the Government”).

The Court received the friendly-settlement declarations, signed by the parties, under which the applicants agreed to waive any further claims against Malta in respect of the facts giving rise to this application, subject to an undertaking by the Government to pay them the amount indicated in the appended table. This amount will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the Court’s decision. In the event of failure to pay this amount within the above-mentioned three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from the expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case.

THE LAW

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and the Protocols thereto and finds no reasons to justify a continued examination of the application.

In view of the above, it is appropriate to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court, unanimously,

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases in accordance with Article 39 of the Convention.

Done in English and notified in writing on 12 December 2024.

Viktoriya Maradudina Anne Louise Bormann
Acting Deputy Registrar President

APPENDIX

Application raising complaints under Article 1 of Protocol No. 1 to the Convention

Application no. Date of introduction	Applicant’s name Year of birth	Representative’s name and location	Date of receipt of Government’s declaration	Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration	Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses, jointly to the two applicants (in euros)[1]
43868/21 31/08/2021	Joseph ZAMMIT 1944 Anna BUSUTTIL 1956	DeBono Nicholas Valletta	05/09/2024	19/06/2024	13,000

Application no.
Date of introduction

Applicant’s name

Year of birth

Representative’s name and location

Date of receipt of Government’s declaration

Date of receipt of Applicant’s declaration

Amount awarded for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage and costs and expenses, jointly to the two applicants

(in euros)[1]

43868/21

31/08/2021

Joseph ZAMMIT

1944

Anna BUSUTTIL

1956

DeBono Nicholas

Valletta

05/09/2024

19/06/2024

13,000

[1] Plus any tax that may be chargeable to the applicants.