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Corporate and M&A

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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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Corporate and M&ACOVID19 MeasuresLegal UpdatesNews

COVID-19 Update: Closure of Public Places

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Superintendent of Public Health issued Legal Notice 76 of 2020 entitled 'Closure of Places Open to the Public Order, 2020' on 17 March 2020. The Legal Notice orders that all bars, restaurants, cafeterias, snack bars, cinemas, gyms, museums, exhibitions, clubs, discotheques, night clubs, open-air markets, indoor swimming pools, the national swimming pool, gaming premises – including controlled gaming premises, bingo halls, casinos, gaming parlours, lotto booths and betting shops be closed due to the outbreak. This notwithstanding, the Legal Notice allows restaurants, snack bars and kiosks to continue to provide their delivery and take-away…
MamoTCV Advocates
18th March 2020
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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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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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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
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Corporate and M&A

Amendments to the Consumer Affairs Act – new procedural safeguards for traders in public enforcement proceedings

This article was written by Dr Annalies Muscat and Dr Laura SpiteriOn the 31 May 2019, Parliament enacted the Competition Act and Consumer Affairs Act and other Laws (Amendment) Act ("the Amendment Act").As the name implies, the Amendment Act amends not only the Competition Act (read more here), but also the Consumer Affairs Act ("the Act"). It is clear that following the Constitutional Court judgments in Federation of Estate Agents v Direttur Generali (Kompetizzjoni) et of 3 May 2016 and Thake et vs Electoral Commission of 8 October 2018 the need to amend the Consumer Affairs Act was felt. These…
Annalies Muscat
9th July 2019