MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Louis Cassar Pullicino, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Yasmine Ellul, Ganado Advocates
Centre (MAC) in domestic and international arbitra - tions. Moreover, when administering such proceedings, the MAC requires the parties to make deposits as advanc - es on costs. During the course of the arbitral proceedings, the arbi - tral tribunal may request from the parties’ supplemen - tary deposits to cover further costs. If the required deposits are not paid in full within 30 days from the receipt of the request, the arbitral tribunal shall inform the parties in order that any one of them may make the required payment. If the payment is not made, the arbitral tribunal may order the suspension or termina - tion of the arbitral proceedings. At the recognition and enforcement stage, on the application of the party claiming recognition or enforcement of the award, the court may order the other party to provide appropriate security. In domestic arbitrations, the procedural framework is primarily governed by Part IV of the Act and the Rules, which are mandatory unless explicitly stated otherwise. One notable domestic requirement is the filing of a notice of arbitration ad validitatem, a rule unique to domestic proceedings. In contrast, inter - national arbitrations seated in Malta afford parties greater procedural flexibility. In such cases, the Act and Rules function as default provisions, applying only if the parties expressly adopt them or have not other - wise agreed on a different procedural regime (such as the UNCITRAL Rules or institutional rules). However, fundamental principles concerning due process and the right to a fair hearing apply without exception in both domestic and international arbitrations, as they form part of Maltese public policy. 7.2 Procedural Steps The parties are at liberty to determine the procedure to be followed by the arbitral tribunal in international arbitrations having Malta as their seat of arbitration. The Act and the Rules provide rules on procedure as 7. Procedure 7.1 Governing Rules
default rules in case the parties do not agree on the procedure, or the parties expressly adopt such rules in international arbitrations. The general public policy provisions regulating fair trial (due process) naturally apply. In domestic arbitrations, procedural flexibility is much more limited and is managed by the MAC. 7.3 Powers and Duties of Arbitrators In domestic arbitration and where, in international arbitration, the parties adopt the Rules to regulate their arbitration, the tribunal is empowered to: • rule on its own jurisdiction, including on any objec - tions on the existence or validity of the arbitration agreement; • order interim measures of protection; • in the absence of party agreement, adopt appro - priate procedure to conduct the arbitration – this includes the power to determine the admissibility, relevance, materiality and weight of evidence; • appoint experts and require parties to co-operate with the experts; • request court assistance in taking evidence; • decide whether additional written statements should be exchanged; • issue an order for the termination of the arbitration proceedings if their continuation becomes unnec - essary or impossible, unless a party raises justifi - able grounds for objection; and • impose penalties for non-compliance with orders, for failure to observe time limits and for failure to attend hearings or cancellation thereof without valid reasons. Apart from the duties of independence and impartiality which have already been discussed in 4.5 Arbitrator Requirements , an arbitrator is expected to perform their duties as arbitrator honestly, impartially, with due diligence and without fear or favour according to law. Article 10 of the Act also lists, amongst the functions of the MAC, the right to review the performance of arbitrators, including the right to admonish or issue appropriate sanctions against arbitrators that do not perform their duties.
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