Juridical interest : a turning point

Abstract

A significant stumbling block in keeping a public authority in check under Maltese law has been the often misused and abused doctrine of juridical interest or legal standing. Only those who have legal standing, namely an actual, personal and juridical interest, can challenge the validity of a decision of a public authority. The way the Maltese courts have interpreted this "interest" has been restrictive and conservative to the point that, even in human rights cases, it has adopted such a narrow suffocating approach - less liberal than that applied by the European Court of Human Rights.