MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
• any person, in regard to any obligation contracted in favour of a citizen or resident of Malta, or of a body having a distinct legal personality or associa- tion of persons incorporated or operating in Malta, if the judgment can be enforced in Malta; and • any person who – expressly or tacitly – voluntarily submits or has agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the court. 3.4 Initial Complaint In the Superior Courts, proceedings are usually insti- tuted by a sworn application (ie, a statement of claim), or where the law permits, by a mere application (which is not confirmed on oath upon filing). In the Inferior Courts, proceedings are instituted by application. A sworn application must be confirmed on oath before the Court Registrar or a Commissioner for Oaths, and must contain: • a clear and explicit statement of the subject of the cause and a declaration of the facts; • the cause of the claim; • the claim(s); • a notice to the recipient that a sworn reply must be filed within 20 days of service of the sworn appli- cation, in lieu of which the court may proceed to adjudicate the matter according to law; and • an exhaustive list of witnesses intended to be pro- duced in evidence. The ordinary procedure before appellate courts is by application, which must contain a plea that the judgment appealed against, or any part thereof, be reversed, annulled, or varied. In the case of a request for reversal, the application must contain a reference to the claim and to the judgment appealed against, together with detailed reasons on which the appeal is entered, and a request that the claim be allowed or dismissed. In the case of a request for variation, the application must also distinctly state the heads of the judgment complained of, together with detailed rea- sons for which the appeal is entered and, in conclu- sion, shall specifically state the manner in which it is desired that the judgment be varied under each head. The application before the Inferior Courts shall take the form of a notice signed by the Registrar, contain-
ing the names of the plaintiff and the defendant, the demand, and the date and hour when the defendant is to appear. Appeals from Inferior Courts may be made by applica- tion of appeal, whether for reversal or variation. All written pleadings, regardless of the court they are filed before, must contain the following: • an indication of the court and section; • the full name of both parties and, if applicable, the capacity in which they appear; • the description of the pleading; and • the reference number of any relevant action previ- ously brought. Parties wishing to correct any act instituting a lawsuit may request court authorisation to do so, by means of an application, where such correction does not affect the substance of either the action or defence on the merits of the case. Such authorisation may be made at any stage of the proceedings until delivery of the judgment. 3.5 Rules of Service The application instituting proceedings, once filed, will need to be served on the defendant through court bailiffs or judicial officers. Service is affected by deliv- ery of a copy of the judicial act by a court bailiff to the defendant directly. In the case of corporate enti- ties, a copy of the act may be served at its regis- tered office, or with the director, company secretary, or other officer. Multiple service attempts can be made without court authorisation at different times of the day. Once ser- vice is validly affected, the court bailiff charged with service shall draw up a separate certificate of service for each attempt in the records of that judicial act. If multiple service attempts are not successful, court authorisation may be requested for substitute or indi- rect service by affixation of the judicial act in the rel- evant town (specifically at the local council and police district office) and on the door of the defendant’s resi- dence, accompanied by publication of a summary of the judicial act in the Malta Government Gazette and in one or more daily newspapers.
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