On the 16th of March 2026, the Constitutional Court delivered its final judgment on the appeal filed by the plaintiff Inġ. Arthur Ciantar on behalf of Malta Association for Professional Engineers (MAPE) to legally challenge the Act XLVIII of 2021, which amended the Inġiniera Act (Cap. 321).

The Constitutional Court consisting of Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti and Hon. Judges Anthony Ellul and Robert G. Mangion, dismissed the appeal of the plaintiff Inġ. Arthur Ciantar and confirmed the sentence which was appealed. The final judgement of the Constitutional Court may be viewed here.

The sentence which was appealed was issued by the First Hall of the Civil Court (Constitutional Jurisdiction), presided by Hon. Judge Lawrence Mintoff, on the 12th February 2025. The CoE President of the time, Inġ. Malcolm Zammit, had testified as state witness in the sittings of 11th October and 29th November 2023. The First Hall judgment which was being appealed may be viewed here.

The Constitutional Court confirmed that the injunction issued in 2020 applied only to the Bord tal-Inġiniera and did not bind the Minister or Parliament. The Court held that the Board’s role in the matter was advisory and that no delegation of legislative power had taken place. The Court also determined that the EU Proportionality Test Directive applies only when legislation restricts access to a profession. Since the 2021 amendments expanded access rather than restricted it, the Directive’s mandatory consultation requirements did not apply.

The Court noted that consultation with stakeholders had taken place over several years and that the amendments formed part of Malta’s efforts to address EU infringement proceedings related to the Services Directive. In sentencing, the various consultation meetings and efforts carried out by the Chamber of Engineers were highlighted. The appeal was therefore dismissed, and the First Hall judgment was confirmed.

A thorough overview of the court cases impacting the engineering profession was recently provided at the Chamber of Engineers Annual General Meeting. Members of the Chamber and the profession will be kept informed with further updates relevant to the status of these cases.