MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: John Bonello and Elian Scicluna, 8Point Law
Code of Procedure, the civil courts of Malta have jurisdiction to determine all actions concerning the following persons: • citizens of Malta, provided they have not fixed their domicile elsewhere; • any person as long as they are either domi - ciled or resident or present in Malta; • any person, in matters relating to property situated or existing in Malta; • any person who has contracted any obliga - tion in Malta, but only with regard to actions stemming from such obligation and provided such person is present in Malta; • any person who, having contracted an obliga - tion in some other country, has nevertheless agreed to carry out such obligation in Malta, or who has contracted any obligation that must necessarily be put into effect in Malta – provided in either case such person is pre - sent in Malta; • any person, with regard to any obligation contracted in favour of a citizen or resident of Malta or in favour of a body with a distinct legal personality or an association of persons incorporated or operating in Malta, if the judgment can be enforced in Malta; and • any person who, expressly or tacitly, volun - tarily submits or has agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the court. In an action for divorce, at least one of the fol - lowing requirements must be satisfied: • one of the spouses is domiciled in Malta on the date of the filing of the demand for divorce before the court; or • one of the spouses was ordinarily resident in Malta for a period of one year immedi - ately preceding the filing of the demand for divorce.
In the case of disputes where a defendant is domiciled in an EU member state, the provi - sions of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recogni - tion and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast) are applied by the Maltese courts.
2. Financial Proceedings 2.1 Choice of Jurisdiction
In the context of family proceedings, it is typical in Malta for all matters to be brought together in one process. Thus, a typical family case – be it a separation or a divorce – will include demands related to children’s matters and financial mat - ters. As such, the ordinary rules for jurisdiction as detailed in 1.2 Choice of Jurisdiction apply in financial proceedings. 2.2 Service and Process The service requirements and timelines outlined in 1.1 Grounds, Timeline, Service and Process are applicable to financial proceedings. 2.3 Division of Assets In terms of the Maltese Civil Code, three mat - rimonial regimes may apply in this jurisdic - tion: the Community of Acquests, the Separa - tion of Estates, or the Community of Residue under Separate Administration (CORSA). The default position is the Community of Acquests – although couples may elect to have the regime of Separation of Estates regulating their financial matters. CORSA is seldom resorted to. In terms of the Community of Acquests, assets acquired after marriage are deemed to be jointly owned by the spouses, thereby safeguarding the financial interests of the less affluent spouse.
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