The Ministry for Justice, Culture and Local Government is launching a public consultation on the setting up of a Commercial Section, within the Civil Court, First Hall with the aim of improving the quality and efficiency of the judicial process in respect of commercial cases.
The draft Bill, entitled Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure (Amendment) (No.2) Act of 2017, proposes that claims regulated by the Companies Act (Chp 386) will fall within the specific competence of this specialized section. Claims filed under this new system will relate to:
- Bankruptcy (Falliment)
- Warrant of Seizure
- Warrant of Prohibitory Injunction (Mandat ta' Inibizzjoni)
- Point of Law - Companies (Punt ta' Liġi - Kumpanniji)
- Application Art 300B, Chp 386 - Restoration of company name on register (Rikors Art 300B Kap 386)
- Application Art 325, Chp 386 - Defunct companies (Rikors Art 325 kap 386)
- Application Art 214, Act XXV of 1995 - (Rikors Art. 214 - Att XXV_1995)
- Application Art 402, Act XXV of 1995 - (Rikors Art. 402 Att XXV_1995)
- Sospensjoni Eżekuzzjoni Kambjali
- Winding Up (Stralc)
Furthermore, these legislative amendments will be accompanied by enhancements in the court automation procedures that will introduce the online filing of the initial complaints and the electronic payment of fees.
2. Consultation Questions
1. Do you agree with the setting up of the Civil Court, First Hall, Commercial Section?
2. The Commercial Section will have the jurisdiction to hear and decide cases filed under The Companies Act. Do you envisage that the remit of this section could expand further?
3. In your opinion, are there any other operational or legislative changes that need to be addressed concurrently with the setting up of this section, in order to enhance the efficient disposition of cases throughout the whole judicial process?
4. Do you envisage that the law can regulate the number of adjournments, or that adjournments become limited only to unforseen circumstances?
5. Would you agree with the introduction of a pre-trial conference system that would ensure that a case would be heard expeditiously?
3. Documents
4. Submission of input
Submissions were sent in through the following channels:
By filling the online form.
By post: Director Policy Development and Policy Implementation, MJCL, Palazzo Spinola, Triq San Kristofru, Valletta.
Submissions were received by 24th July 2017.
We thank you for your input.