MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
14.2 Growth Areas It is envisaged that the main area of growth for com- mercial disputes in Malta is in the realm of digital and financial technology. In line with the country’s Digi- tal Malta Strategy, there has been an ongoing strong focus on establishing and maintaining Malta as an attractive jurisdiction for both attracting investment, as well as settling disputes in these sectors. This growth is, in fact, driven by the enactment of key leg- islation in this area over the past few years. Over the next five years, disputes involving larger intra-EU matters and increased use of both domes- tic and international arbitration in sectors like con- struction, shipping, insurance and financial services are also expected to expand. The latter is particularly so as Maltese parties increasingly adopt arbitration clauses in public procurement and large infrastructure projects.
or commercial nature, such as actions related to col- lisions at sea, and the judicial sales of vessels and aircrafts. Although a self-standing Commercial Court had pre- viously existed under the Commercial Code, it was eventually dissolved due to delays and disputes in determining the civil or commercial nature of claims presented before it. This led the First Hall of the Civil Court to absorb commercial cases, thereby avoiding the need to assess competence. Later, the Commer- cial Section within the Civil Court was introduced to hear, primarily, matters governed by the Companies Act. Until the coming into force of Bill 133, commercial matters continue to be heard before the Civil Court (Commercial Section) or the First Hall of the Civil Court. The Bill is currently awaiting its third reading in parliament before it can become legally in force.
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