MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief against third parties is not strictly pos- sible, but the warrant of prohibitory injunction can be served on third parties to ensure that they comply with the terms of the injunction and not allow the debtor to act in contravention of the injunction. Moreover, garnishee orders are typically issued against third parties who hold funds or assets for and on behalf of the debtor. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non- Compliance Defendants who do not comply with injunctive relief will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to imprisonment and/or a fine. Unless otherwise specified by law, judicial proceed- ings are instituted by filing a sworn application in court, containing a statement of facts and the relief requested, and to which a list of documents and wit- nesses is attached. The court will then issue a decree scheduling a first case management hearing and ordering service on the defendants, who will then have 20 days from the day of service to file a sworn reply. Assuming no preliminary pleas are raised, the trial then starts by the plaintiff initiating the evidentiary process, including the presentation of affidavits and other documentary evidence. The defendant would then typically cross-examine the witnesses who sub- mitted the affidavits and produce its own witnesses and documentary evidence. This is followed by the exchange of legal submissions in writing, and then by a final round of oral rebuttals. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Provided that all defendants are served with the law - suit, the first sitting scheduled for the case is generally a case management hearing. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases There are no jury trials in civil cases. 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The rules that govern the admission of evidence at trial are as follows: • the court requires the best evidence that the par- ties are able to produce; • all evidence must be relevant to the matter at issue between the parties; • any procedural objection to evidence must be recorded in the proceedings; and • as a general rule of thumb, the burden of proving a fact shall, in all cases, rest on the party alleging it. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is permitted at trial. If an expert wit- ness is introduced ex parte, their opinion shall only be admissible if, in the opinion of the court, they are suitably qualified in the relevant matter. The court may nominate its own experts, and their opinions would also amount to evidence. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Trials are generally conducted in public. However, it is within the discretion of the court to order that the trial be heard behind closed doors on the grounds of decency, good morals, or in proceedings of anti-mon- ey laundering. The request for a trial to be heard with closed doors may, upon good reason being shown, also be made by both parties together. Judgments are delivered in open court, with a signed transcript of the judgment itself being deposited in the records of the case. 7.7 Level of Intervention by a Judge Malta has adopted the adversarial model. Accord- ingly, the judge is generally passive, intervening only if required to provide direction, seek clarifications from the parties or witnesses, or in the event of the issuance of an order, directive, or interim decision by judicial decree. In this respect, in order to ensure full compliance with all matters of procedure, to seek more detailed infor- mation, to expedite or facilitate proceedings, or to avoid the unnecessary appearance of parties or wit-
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