MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
Ganado Advocates 171 Old Bakery Street Valletta VLT 1455 Malta Tel: +356 2123 5406 Email: lawfirm@ganado.com Web: www.ganado.com
1. General 1.1 General Characteristics of the Legal System The Maltese legal system has developed into a mixed legal system. In private law matters, it is largely a jurisdiction based on the civil law tradi- tion; however, decades of British rule exposed the Maltese legal system to English law in vari- ous aspects of public law and the law of civil and criminal procedure. Consequently, many branches of contemporary Maltese law are influ- enced by English law, ranging from public law to company law, fiscal law and maritime law. The legal system primarily follows the adver- sarial model, but there is some flexibility for judges to intervene at various stages, although not typically in an inquisitorial manner as is the case in most continental European jurisdictions. The legal process is generally conducted in both
Superior Courts The Superior Courts consist of the Civil Court, the Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. Civil Court The Civil Court of superior jurisdiction hears all cases, except where competence has been vested in another court or tribunal, and in prin- ciple, where the monetary value of the claim exceeds EUR15,000 or cannot be quantified when filing the lawsuit. The Superior Courts of criminal jurisdiction deal with criminal offences where punishment ranges from over six months up to life imprisonment. The First Hall of the Civil Court is generally vest- ed with competence to determine claims of a civil and commercial nature, and is divided into four sections:
• the general jurisdiction; • the commercial section; • the family section; and • the voluntary jurisdiction section. Court of Appeal
written and oral form. 1.2 Court System
The Maltese courts are divided into the Superior and Inferior Courts. In view of the size of the country, the judicial system is not split between federal and state courts.
The Court of Appeal hears and determines all appeals from judgments of the Civil Court and the Court of Magistrates (Gozo) in its superior
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