MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
3.7 Representative or Collective Actions The Collective Proceedings (Competition) Act (Chapter 520 of the Laws of Malta) and the Rep- resentative Actions (Consumers) Act (Act No. XVII of 2023) which transposed the Representa- tive Actions Directive (Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers), allow con- sumer class actions, group actions, as well as representative actions, where a party is in breach of laws on, amongst others, competition law, product safety law, consumer protection, data protection, utilities, financial services, product and medicine safety, environment and others. Proceedings may be conducted by a represent- ative plaintiff on behalf of multiple plaintiffs. In the case of consumers, representative actions may be brought by qualified entities, generally designated organisations or public bodies rep- resenting consumers. Thus, all collective actions and representative actions are opt-in. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There is no statutory requirement to provide cli- ents with a cost estimate of the potential litiga- tion at the outset.
Multiple service attempts can be made without court authorisation at different times of the day. Once service is validly affected, the court bailiff charged with service shall draw up a separate certificate of service for each attempt in the records of that judicial act. If multiple service attempts are not successful, court authorisa- tion may be requested for substitute or indirect service by affixation of the judicial act in the relevant town (specifically at the local council and police district office) and on the door of the defendant’s residence, accompanied by publi- cation of a summary of the judicial act in the Malta Government Gazette and in one or more daily newspapers. Defendants can also be sued if they are estab- lished or physically located outside the jurisdic- tion. If they are located in an EU member state, service of judicial documents may take place in accordance with the procedure laid down in Regulation (EU) No 2020/1784 on the service in the member states of judicial and extrajudi- cial documents in civil or commercial matters (recast). If they are located in a country that is a Contract- ing State to the Hague Convention of 15 Novem- ber 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in civil or commercial matters, then service may take place in accord- ance with the procedure laid out therein. 3.6 Failure to Respond The failure of a defendant to respond will result in them being contumacious (that is, in default), provided that they have been validly served with the judicial act instituting the proceedings. At law, contumacy is deemed to be an automatic contestation, and not an admission of a lawsuit.
4. Pre-trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
Plaintiffs may seek the issue of interim court measures, known as precautionary warrants, in support of lawsuits, but only as security for claims made on the merits. The precautionary warrants may only be issued if the essential req- uisites particular to each warrant are satisfied, and each warrant is subject to any procedural formalities or exceptions provided by law. They are issued on an ex parte application confirmed
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