MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Louis Cassar Pullicino, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Yasmine Ellul, Ganado Advocates
2. Governing Legislation 2.1 Governing Law
property disputes – a development attributable largely to the procedural flexibility afforded by arbitration and the benefit of arbitrators with specialist expertise in the subject matter. 1.3 Arbitration Institutions The Malta Arbitration Centre (MAC) is the principal institution that oversees the conduct of domestic arbi - trations and an ever-increasing number of internation - al arbitrations having Malta as their seat of arbitration. It is run by a publicly appointed board of governors that is responsible for the policy and general adminis - tration of the affairs and business of the MAC and has its own secretariat. The MAC offers basic facilities for the conduct of arbitration and may act as the default appointing authority with a choice of arbitrator(s) from panels of professionals practising different areas of law. Malta is also regularly designated as the seat of ad hoc international arbitrations, as well as the seat of institutional arbitrations under the rules of leading arbitration institutions, most commonly, the Interna - tional Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA). No new institutions have been established in Malta in 2025–26. 1.4 National Courts The Superior Courts (the First Hall of the Civil Court and the Court of Appeal) are vested with the powers to stay arbitration proceedings, grant interim relief, hear procedural challenges, and make recognition orders. The specific division of powers and jurisdic - tion of the particular courts depend on the nature of the relief sought. The courts are regulated by the Arbi - tration Act (Chapter 387 of the Laws of Malta) (the “Arbitration Act”) and the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure (Chapter 12 of the Laws of Malta) (the “Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure”), and will be addressed in more detail in subsequent sections of this article.
The Arbitration Act and the Arbitration Rules (Subsidi - ary Legislation 387.01) (the “Rules”) are the principal legislative instruments regulating arbitration in Malta. The Act is modelled on the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration of 1985 (the “UNCITRAL Model Law”), and the Rules are likewise modelled on the UNCITRAL Arbitration Rules of 1976. The Act also incorporates the Convention on the Rec - ognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1958 (the “New York Convention”), the Geneva Protocol on Arbitration Clauses of 1923 (the “Geneva Protocol”), the Geneva Convention on the Execution of Foreign Arbitral Awards of 1927 (the “Geneva Con - vention”), and the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States of 1965 (the “ICSID Convention”). The UNCITRAL Model Law is annexed to the Act as the First Schedule of the Act and forms an integral part thereof in its entirety. The Act has not yet been amended to reflect the 2006 version of the UNCITRAL Model Law, although reform In the first quarter of 2026, Act No. IV of 2026, “An Act to amend various laws to provide for the establish - ment of the Commercial Court and to provide for con - sequential amendments”, was published. The Com - mercial Court will be competent to hear and determine causes relating to commercial matters arising under, inter alia, the Companies Act, the Competition Act, the Banking Act, the Merchant Shipping Act and the Trademarks Act, as well as matters regulated by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, the Civil Aviation Act (excluding its criminal provisions), the Ports and Ship - ping Act, the Financial Institutions Act and the Con - sumer Affairs Act. Of particular relevance to the arbitration landscape, Act No. IV of 2026 amends the Code of Organisa - tion and Civil Procedure so as to allocate to the Com - mercial Court competence to perform any function relating to the recognition and enforcement of foreign initiatives on this front are expected. 2.2 Changes to National Law
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