MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Louis Cassar Pullicino, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Yasmine Ellul, Ganado Advocates
the extent authorised by the parties or otherwise nec - essary to implement the provisions of the Act. Related to the confidentiality of documents, the Rules also provide that the documents filed in the arbitral pro - ceedings shall only be accessible to the arbitral tribu - nal and the parties on request, unless confidentiality is waived by the parties. Moreover, the hearings are held in private, and only the parties, their assistants or representatives, the Registrar and individuals neces - sary for the support of the proceedings as ordered by the tribunal are permitted to attend. However, confidentiality is subject to certain excep - tions – for instance, where a party expressly agrees to disclosure, where disclosure is necessary to safe - guard a party’s rights in legal proceedings under the arbitration agreement or the Arbitration Act, or in cas - es involving mandatory arbitration. The general rule is that disclosure in subsequent pro - ceedings is prohibited unless otherwise agreed to in the arbitration agreement. Article 44 of the Arbitration Act and Article 31 of the UNCITRAL Model Law establish the legal require - ments for an arbitral award, which must: • be in writing; • be signed by the arbitral tribunal (if the tribunal is composed of three arbitrators, the signature of the majority is required, provided that the reason for any omitted signature is stated); • unless the parties have otherwise agreed, contain the reasons for the award; and • state the date and place of arbitration. There are no preset time limits for the rendering of an award under Maltese law. Time limits contained in institutional rules for the rendering of an award by the arbitral tribunal are, however, recognised by Maltese law as an expression of the will of the parties. Nonetheless, the Act sets specific time limits for post- award remedies. According to Article 47, a party may 10. The Award 10.1 Legal Requirements
request an interpretation of the award within 15 days of receiving it, and the tribunal must provide its inter - pretation within 45 days. Under Article 48, parties may request the correction of errors, such as computa - tional mistakes, clerical or typographical errors, or similar inaccuracies, within 15 days of receiving the award. The tribunal may also correct such errors on its own initiative within 30 days. Additionally, Article 49 allows a party to request an additional award for claims that were omitted from the original decision, provided that the request is made within 15 days of receiving the award; if warranted, the tribunal must issue the additional award within 45 days. 10.2 Types of Remedies The Arbitration Act does not address the types of remedies available, but, in principle, all kinds of rem - edies are available, provided that they find legal sup - port under the applicable law and are not in violation of the public policy of Malta. Arbitral tribunals can, therefore, make declaratory reliefs and order monetary compensation, specific performance or other ad hoc types of remedies requested by the parties within the parameters outlined above. 10.3 Recovering Interest and Legal Costs In both domestic and international arbitration, the Arbitration Act specifies that the costs of arbitration shall in principle be borne by the unsuccessful party, reflecting the “loser pays” principle. However, this rule is not absolute, and it is at the discretion of the arbitral tribunal to apportion the costs, taking into account the particular circumstances of the case. In accordance with Article 50 of the Act, the term “costs” includes: • the fees of the tribunal; • travel and other expenses incurred by each arbitra - tor; • costs of expert advice and other assistance required by the tribunal; • travel and other expenses of witnesses approved by the tribunal; • costs for legal representation and assistance of the successful party if such costs were claimed during the arbitral proceedings, and only if the tribunal deems such costs to be reasonable; and
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