Disputes involving employment, whether they are disputes between employers and employees or disputes between employees, are by their very nature highly sensitive and can possibly affect the image and reputation of companies. An employment dispute is traditionally referred to the courts of law or to the Industrial Tribunal where there is always an element of publicity involved and a losing party. Mediation is an alternative method of dispute resolution which presents numerous advantages compared to traditional solutions. Mediation is a voluntary process during whic...

This article was written by​ Dr. Stephen Muscat and Daniel Vancell Introduction The Reletting of Urban Property (Regulation) Ordinance, Chapter 69 of the Laws of Malta (the "Ordinance"), has been recently amended by virtue of Act XXIV of 2021 1 . The main goal for the introduction of the Ordinance, originally, was to protect the interest of the public by establishing a type of lease which would automatically renew itself and could not be terminated unilaterally upon its expiration. A problem that arose under the Ordinance was the fact that this law placed a restri...

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the " TCA ") concluded on Christmas Eve, 2020 is silent with respect to judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters (as opposed to cooperation in criminal matters). Consequently, as from 1st January, 2021 the UK is treated as a third state with respect to the application of a number of significant EU legislation regulating matters of cross-border judicial cooperation (e.g. the rules governing the recognition and enforcement of court judgements or the choice of jurisdiction and applicable law clauses). Given the r...

In a recent judgment in the case Middlesea Insurance plc illum Mapfre Middlesea p.l.c. vs Spot On Gypsum Limited , the Court of Appeal overturned the conclusion of the First Hall, Civil Court with respect to the onus of proof. The case referred to an action for damages following an accident suffered by a resident in a hotel due to defective works carried out by the defendant company. The First Hall of the Civil Court had concluded that the defendant company was, in fact, responsible for the damages, but failed to liquidate the damages or to condemn the defendant c...

Constitutional Court, Gerald Camilleri et vs Advocate General et, 6 th October 2020 The Maltese courts of Constitutional Jurisdiction were tasked with deciding a claim of violation of fundamental human rights as filed by the applicants, who had purchased a property in Sliema - in respect of which the provisions of the Housing (Decontrol) Ordinance, Chapter 158 of the Laws of Malta are applicable - and which the applicants knew was tenanted by third parties under a title of lease resulting from a previous title of emphyteusis. Notwithstanding the fact that the appl...