Town and Spatial Planning Law no. 90 of 1972

This Law provides for town and country planning, for regulating the use, controlling and promoting the development of immovable property. The authority competent ("planning authority") for the purposes of this Law shall be, as the case may be, the Minister of Finance (as far as Part II is concerned) and the Minister of Interior elsewhere; however, the expression "the Minister" shall include any person, body or authority delegated by the Minister to exercise his functions under this Law. The main instrument established by this Law is the so called "Island Plan"; this plan is prepared after a survey of the Republic and thereafter submitted to the Council of Ministers for approval. The Island Plan shall indicate the general policy to be followed in promoting and controlling development and may indicate the Government's intentions relating to the use of immovable property in the Republic including among other the location of population, the definition of areas of special social, historic or cultural interest or natural beauty and other matters of more than local importance; local matters are considered under the so called "Local Plans" which in any case have to regard to the aims and purposes of the Island Plan. The Law consists of 89 articles arranged under ten (10) sections: Preliminary (Part I); Planning Authority (Part II); The Island (Part III); Local Plan and Area Schemes (Part IV); Development - Planning control (Part V); Enforcement of Planning control (Part VI); Compulsory acquisition of immovable property and provisions related thereto (Part VII); Compensation (Part VIII); Betterment Charge (Part IX).