MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
• any person who – expressly or tacitly – volun- tarily submits or has agreed to submit to the
manner in which it is desired that the judgment be varied under each head. The application before the Inferior Courts shall take the form of a notice signed by the Regis- trar, containing the names of the plaintiff and the defendant, the demand, and the date and hour when the defendant is to appear. Appeals from Inferior Courts may be made by application of appeal, whether for reversal or variation. All written pleadings, regardless of the court they are filed before, must contain the following: • an indication of the court and section; • the full name of both parties and, if applica- ble, the capacity in which they appear; • the description of the pleading; and • the reference number of any relevant action previously brought. Parties wishing to correct any act instituting a lawsuit may request court authorisation to do so, by means of an application, where such cor- rection does not affect the substance of either the action or defence on the merits of the case. Such authorisation may be made at any stage of the proceedings until delivery of the judgment. 3.5 Rules of Service The application instituting proceedings, once filed, will need to be served on the defendant through court bailiffs or judicial officers. Service is affected by delivery of a copy of the judicial act by a court bailiff to the defendant directly. In the case of corporate entities, a copy of the act may be served at its registered office, or with the director, company secretary or other officer.
jurisdiction of the court. 3.4 Initial Complaint
In the Superior Courts, proceedings are usually instituted by a sworn application (ie, a state- ment of claim), or where the law permits, by a mere application (which is not confirmed on oath upon filing). In the Inferior Courts, proceedings are instituted by application. A sworn application must be confirmed on oath before the Court Registrar or a Commissioner for Oaths, and must contain: • a clear and explicit statement of the subject of the cause and a declaration of the facts; • the cause of the claim; • the claim(s); • a notice to the recipient that a sworn reply must be filed within twenty days of service of the sworn application, in lieu of which the court may proceed to adjudicate the matter according to law; and • an exhaustive list of witnesses intended to be produced in evidence. The ordinary procedure before appellate courts is by application, which must contain a plea that the judgment appealed against, or any part thereof, be reversed, annulled or varied. In the case of a request for reversal, the application must contain a reference to the claim and to the judgment appealed against, together with detailed reasons on which the appeal is entered, and a request that the claim be allowed or dis- missed. In the case of a request for variation, the application must also distinctly state the heads of the judgment complained of, together with detailed reasons for which the appeal is entered and, in conclusion, shall specifically state the
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