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Govt hides behind archaic 1788 law to avoid claims
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The Government has been reminded that in 2001 the Court of Appeal asked the House of Assembly to look into a backward, Third World like, state of affairs 'as a matter of urgency.'
This was over an archaic law dating back to 1788 which, according to lawyer Charles Gomez, the government hides behind to avoid people injured as a result of the poor maintenance and lack of repair of public thoroughfares.
Mr Gomez wrote to minister Joe Holliday on 9 August and he has now written again "since you have not afforded me the courtesy of so much as an acknowledgement and the issue is one of public importance, I am making public this one-sided correspondence."
In his letter yesterday, Mr Gomez - who is now in a new political party - says: Your silence implies that the government has neglected the issue of public safety in the leisure areas under your department's remit."
He recalls that when faced with claims from two elderly ladies, the government did not hesitate to rely on the legal 'relic' to deprive them of just compensation.
That was in 2001 - and nothing has been done to change the archaic law.
"Gibraltar is the only place in the civilised world where there is no recourse against the government for failures to carry out its duty to properly maintain public areas," Mr Gomez tells Mr Holliday.
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