MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
and no later than 30 days after the respondent has been served with the sworn application. 1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings All proceedings before the above-mentioned courts and tribunals are held in public, and all documents and records of the proceedings are accessible to the public. As an exception to this general rule, the rel- evant court or tribunal may order certain documents filed in the records of proceedings to be sealed, par- ticularly where such documents contain confidential information or may otherwise be prejudicial to the parties to those proceedings. Any proceedings filed against or by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) involving money laundering cases are not pub- No person may exercise the profession of advocate in the Courts of Justice in Malta without the authority of the President of Malta, granted by warrant under the Public Seal of Malta. In order to obtain such a warrant, an individual must: • be a fit and proper person as recommended by the Committee for Advocates and Legal Procurators; • be of good conduct and morals; • be a citizen of Malta or of a member state of the European Union, or be otherwise permitted to work in Malta under any law; lic and are heard behind closed doors. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court • have obtained the academic degree in law from the University of Malta, or such other qualification at Master’s level as the Minister may from time to time prescribe, after consultation with the Senate of the University of Malta, or a comparable degree from such other competent authority in accordance with the principles of the mutual recognition of qualifications, after having read law in Malta or in a member state of the EU; • have, for a period of not less than one year, regu- larly attended the office of a practising advocate of the Bar of Malta and the sittings of the Superior Courts; • have full knowledge of the Maltese language, being the language of the courts; and • have been duly examined and approved by two judges.
Advocates so admitted to the Maltese Bar have rights of audience before all courts. Legal procurators in possession of a warrant issued by the President of the Republic and under the Pub- lic Seal of Malta have rights of audience before the Courts of Magistrates (inferior jurisdiction) and special tribunals and boards. Foreign legal professionals from other EU member states wishing to practise in Malta may register with the Ministry for Justice, Equality and Governance, but will need to apply for a local warrant in order to prac- tise in the Courts of Justice in Malta. To be eligible, the applicant should have practised law in Malta for at least three years, have experience of Maltese law, and must satisfy the remaining requirements. In principle, third-party funding of claims governed by Maltese law is permitted, unless the funding is char- acterised as champerty (stipulations quota litis are deemed void). Regulatory clearance may, however, be required if funding is made on an ongoing basis. Third-party litigation funding is possible, although not expressly regulated. In fact, there is no specific, dedi- cated legislation that regulates third-party litigation funding models yet. Notwithstanding this, lawyers are prohibited from entering into funding arrangements with their clients or third parties. 2.2 Third-Party Funding: Lawsuits Subject to 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding , any lawsuit is available for third-party funding. 2.3 Third-Party Funding for Plaintiff and Defendant Subject to 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding , both the plaintiff and defendant can use third-party funding. 2. Litigation Funding 2.1 Third-Party Litigation Funding
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