MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
1.3 Court Filings and Proceedings All proceedings before the above-mentioned courts and tribunals are held in public, and all documents and records of the proceedings are accessible to the public. As an exception to this general rule, the relevant court or tribunal may order certain documents filed in the records of proceedings to be sealed, particularly where such documents contain confidential informa- tion or may otherwise be prejudicial to the par- ties to those proceedings. Any proceedings filed against or by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU) involving money laundering cases are not public and are heard behind closed doors. 1.4 Legal Representation in Court No person may exercise the profession of advo- cate in the Courts of Justice in Malta without the authority of the President of Malta, granted by warrant under the Public Seal of Malta. In order to obtain such a warrant, an individual must: • be a fit and proper person as recommended by the Committee for Advocates and Legal Procurators; • be of good conduct and morals; • be a citizen of Malta or of a member state of the European Union, or be otherwise permit- ted to work in Malta under any law; • have obtained the academic degree in law from the University of Malta, or such other qualification at Master’s level as the Minister may from time to time prescribe, after con- sultation with the Senate of the University of Malta, or a comparable degree from such other competent authority in accordance with the principles of the mutual recognition of qualifications, after having read law in Malta or in a member state of the European Union (EU); • have, for a period of not less than one year, regularly attended the office of a practising
decision, or refusal to any demand of a mem- ber of the public). Any party to the proceed- ings before the tribunal who feels aggrieved by a decision of this tribunal may appeal to the Court of Appeal, sitting in either its supe- rior or its inferior jurisdiction. Administrative acts that do not fall in the competence of the Administrative Review Tribunal are reviewed by the First Hall of the Civil Court, composed of one judge; and • the Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal, which is established by the Data Protection Act (Chapter 586 of the Laws of Malta), and hears and decides appeals following a decision of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner relating to data protection law or freedom of information requests. One may also appeal the decision of the tribunal on a point of law before the Court of Appeal. Timeframes for Getting to Trial When it comes to proceedings before the Mal- tese courts, there is no fixed timeframe within which a case must be scheduled for trial; the timing is entirely dependent on the practices of the presiding judge. However, in practice, after the filing of a court application, the first hear- ing is typically set within eight weeks. This also applies to cases brought before specialised tri- bunals. An exception to this general position applies to special summary proceedings related to debt collection claims that are certain, liquid and due. In such cases, the hearing must be scheduled no earlier than 15 days and no later than 30 days after the respondent has been served with the sworn application.
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