MALTA Law and Practice Contributed by: Antoine Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Chiara Frendo, Ganado Advocates
11. Costs 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation In its judgment, the court will decide who will bear the costs of the proceedings. These costs are typically made up of Court Reg- istry fees, advocates’ fees, and legal procura- tor’s fees, which are established and levied in accordance with statutory tariffs. These official rates are found in the schedules to the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure. When judgments allocate responsibility for litiga- tion costs, whether so apportioned or whether they are allocated against the losing party, the quantum of costs is typically determined by the schedules. The courts generally apply the “costs follow the event” principle. 11.2 Factors Considered When Awarding Costs Maltese law does not attempt to restrict judi- cial discretion in terms of cost allocation. As explained in 11.1 Responsibility for Paying the Costs of Litigation , costs typically follow the event, although there have been instances where one party’s dilatory behaviour during pro- ceedings or a party’s refusal to reach an early settlement have been considered in the alloca- tion and award of costs. 11.3 Interest Awarded on Costs Interest is not awarded on costs.
12. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country There has been an increased drive in recent years to integrate ADR mechanisms within the general architecture of civil procedure in Malta, with varying degrees of success. Some initia- tives have been of purely domestic origin, with others following the transposition of EU instru- ments like the Mediation Directive. Aside from arbitration, since both domestic and international arbitration with a seat in Malta have gained significant traction and a life of their own, mediation has become increasingly popular. Judges now have the power to refer a case before them to mediation and, in certain specific types of lawsuits, there is a mandatory reference to court-annexed mediation schemes before the case can proceed to litigation. 12.2 ADR Within the Legal System Court annexed mediation schemes and infer- ences on costs as a result of unreasonable refus- als to refer to ADR before litigation seem to be the direction forward in Malta. See 12.1 Views of ADR Within the Country regarding the promotion of ADR. As far as is known, there are not yet any clear sanctions for refusing ADR. 12.3 ADR Institutions The institution which regulates arbitration in Mal- ta is the Malta Arbitration Centre (MAC), and the institution which regulates mediation is called the Malta Mediation Centre (MMC). The functions of the MAC/MMC include the fol- lowing:
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