Category

Corporate and M&A

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Bill proposing amendments to the Companies Act. Corporate and M&A

Bill proposing amendments to the Companies Act.

This article was written by Dr Michael Psaila and Dr Joshua Chircop.OverviewOn 13th May 2020, the Minister for the Economy, Investment and Small Businesses tabled the Companies Act (Amendment) Bill (the "Bill") which proposes certain amendments to the Companies Act, Chapter 386 of the Laws of Malta (the "Act").The Bill proposes: 1.new grounds for ineligibility and disqualification from holding certain offices under the Act; 2.new powers to the Minister to make regulations on winding up applications (including the suspension of the right to make winding up applications), regulations on wrongful trading (including the retrospective suspension of the wrongful trading provisions)…
Michael Psaila
21st May 2020
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New Regulations Setting Up a Company Recovery Fund Corporate and M&A

New Regulations Setting Up a Company Recovery Fund

On 12th May 2020, Legal Notice 192 of 2020, the Companies Act (Company Reconstructions Fund) Regulations 2020 (the "Regulations") was published to supplement the company recovery procedure as provided under article 329B of the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the laws of Malta) (the "Act").Objective of the RegulationsThe Regulations set up and regulate the administration and operation of a fund to be designated the Company Recovery Fund (the "Fund") which is intended to facilitate the company recovery procedure under article 329B of the Act. The Fund shall receive a maximum amount of €500,000 annually from the Malta Business Registry provided…
Nicole Portelli
15th May 2020
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Duties of Directors of Financially Distressed Companies Corporate and M&ANews

Duties of Directors of Financially Distressed Companies

Professor Andrew Muscat, who heads the Corporate Law Department at the Firm, has published a series of articles in the Times of Malta dealing with the duties and liabilities of directors of a company experiencing financial difficulties. This subject is particularly relevant these days when several companies are finding themselves in a difficult position as a result of the Covid-19 worldwide pandemic. The first article in the series introduced the subject of directors' duties and the notion of insolvency (https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/duties-and-liabilities-of-directors-of-companies-in-financial.786188 )The second article explored the statutory duties of directors, including those duties which, if breached, may constitute a criminal offence…
Andrew Muscat
22nd April 2020
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Consumer Legislation: Revamp of Consumer Law Directives Corporate and M&A

Consumer Legislation: Revamp of Consumer Law Directives

This article was written by​ Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura SpiteriOn the 7 January 2020, Directive 2019/2161 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules (the 'Directive') came into force. It amends various Directives related to consumer law in the light of the various technological developments that have taken place on the online marketplace. This article lists the salient amendments which will be brought about by the Directive.Unfair Terms Directive1The Directive amends the Unfair Terms Directive, which now requires Member States to lay down rules on penalties…
Annalies Muscat
9th January 2020
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The Right to a Fair Hearing in Consumer Law Proceedings Corporate and M&A

The Right to a Fair Hearing in Consumer Law Proceedings

This article is written by Dr. Annalies Muscat On the 31 October 2019, the First Hall in its Constitutional Jurisdiction handed down judgement in Digisec Media Limited v Director General (Consumer Affairs) and Advocate General. It affirmed that public enforcement proceedings in relation to consumer law are criminal in nature and therefore are protected by the constitutional guarantee to a fair hearing as applicable to criminal offences.On the 18th of May 2018, in line with the provisions of the Consumer Affairs Act ("the Act") and the Consumer Rights Regulations ("the Regulations"), the Director General (Consumer Affairs) issued an administrative decision…
Annalies Muscat
18th December 2019
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FIAU Publishes Revised AML/CFT Implementing Procedures Corporate and M&A

FIAU Publishes Revised AML/CFT Implementing Procedures

The Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (the FIAU) has published an amended version of the Implementing Procedures Part 1, with changes taking effect from the 19th July 2019 (the Amendments). The FIAU has announced that the Amendments intend to provide Subject Persons with more in-depth qualitative guidance to assist them in better fulfilling their Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) obligations.This follows recent amendments to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, Chapter 373 of the Laws of Malta (the PMLA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering and Funding of TerrorismRegulations, Subsidiary Legislation 373.01 of the Laws of Malta (the…
Joshua Chircop
31st July 2019