MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
6.6 Third Parties and Injunctive Relief Injunctive relief against third parties is not strictly possible, but the warrant of prohibitory injunc- tion can be served on third parties to ensure that they comply with the terms of the injunction and not allow the debtor to act in contravention of the injunction. Moreover, garnishee orders are typically issued against third parties who hold funds or assets for and on behalf of the debtor. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance Defendants who do not comply with injunctive relief will be guilty of contempt of court and will be liable to imprisonment and/or to a fine. Unless otherwise specified by law, judicial pro- ceedings are instituted by filing a sworn appli- cation in court, containing a statement of facts and the relief requested, and to which a list of documents and witnesses is attached. The court will then issue a decree scheduling a first case management hearing and ordering service on the defendants, who will then have 20 days from the day of service to file a sworn reply. Assuming no preliminary pleas are raised, the trial then starts by the plaintiff initiating the evi- dentiary process, including the presentation of affidavits and other documentary evidence. The defendant would then typically cross-examine the witnesses who submitted the affidavits and produce its own witnesses and documentary evidence. 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings
This is followed by the exchange of legal sub- missions in writing, and then by a final round of oral rebuttals. 7.2 Case Management Hearings Provided that all defendants are served with the lawsuit, the first sitting scheduled for the case is generally a case management hearing. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases There are no jury trials in civil cases. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The rules that govern the admission of evidence at trial are as follows: • the court requires the best evidence that the parties are able to produce; • all evidence must be relevant to the matter at issue between the parties; • any procedural objection to evidence must be recorded in the proceedings; and • as a general rule of thumb, the burden of proving a fact shall, in all cases, rest on the party alleging it. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony is permitted at trial. If an expert witness is introduced ex parte, their opinion shall only be admissible if, in the opinion of the court, they are suitably qualified in the relevant matter. The court may nominate its own experts, and their opinions would also amount to evidence. 7.6 Extent to Which Hearings Are Open to the Public Trials are generally conducted in public. Howev- er, it is within the discretion of the court to order that the trial be heard with closed doors on the grounds of decency, good morals or in proceed- ings of anti-money laundering. The request for
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