|
Dr. Jean-Carl Abela [Associate at FSGM.Partners] The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has not only brought dire health consequences to the human race but has also adversely effected the world’s economy, with many experts predicting a rescission to take effect as a result of the strict measures taken by countries all around the world to limit the spread of the virus and eventually eradicate the virus completely.
This current pandemic is formally recognised as a serious disturbance to the Maltese economy, within the meaning of article 107 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which as a consequence also seriously threatens the financial stability in Malta. The Maltese government, in a bid to aid economically vulnerable persons who have been materially affected by the exceptional circumstances brought about by COVID-19 and limit the economic impact, introduced Legal Notice 142 of 2020, which allows a temporary moratorium (suspension of a borrower’s repayment obligations) to be applied by credit and financial institutions (ex. Banks) on credit facilities, to persons who will likely face liquidity shortages and difficulties in honouring their financial and other commitments in a timely manner. The definition of a credit facility under the Directive is wide ranging. The following is a list of examples of eligible facilities:
The moratorium applies to all retail and non-retail clients of credit and financial institutions. Eligibility for the moratorium will be defined in a directive issued by the Central Bank. Applications for the moratorium are to be made by not later as of the 30th June, 2020 by contacting your financial institution. No penalties or restructuring/administrative fees shall apply to successful applicants for this moratorium. Please direct all your queries to [email protected] This article is made available by FSGM.Partners for educational purposes. It provides general information and a general understanding of the law, but does not provide specific legal advice. By using this site, commenting on posts, or sending inquiries through the site or contact email, you confirm that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Blog/Web Site publisher. The Blog/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from your legal adviser.
0 Comments
Dr. Jean-Carl Abela [Associate at FSGM.Partners]Through L.N. 65 of 2020, the Maltese Courts and the Court’s registry, together with all Tribunals, have been closed by order of the Superintendent of Public Health and shall remain closed until such order is repealed by the Superintendent of the Public Health. Therefore, judicial and legal acts cannot be filed for the time being since the Court’s registry is closed.
However, the law offers a special procedure in which through an application, the Court Registry can be requested to be opened in order to file certain judicial acts, albeit with an extra cost for opening the Court during the days or periods when it is closed. However, through L.N. 137 of 2020, these extra costs and tariffs, when it comes to filing the following judicial acts, have now been temporarily waived off away during such times, which are:
Other judicial acts can still be filed however, the cost of these acts will calculated according to the“extra tariffs and costs” established in the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure. Please direct all your queries to [email protected] This Article is made available by FSGM.Partners for educational purposes. It provides general information and a general understanding of the law, but does not provide specific legal advice. By using this site, commenting on posts, or sending inquiries through the site or contact email, you confirm that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Blog/Web Site publisher. The Blog/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from your legal adviser. Dr. Ruth A. Antoncich LL.D [Notary Public]Dr. Ruth A. Antoncich was appointed Notary Public & Commissioner for Oaths in 2010. She has set up her private practice & operates independently from her office in Birzebbuga, Malta. Suspension of Legal Times relating to Promise of Sale Agreements, Notarial and other related matters.
As of the 16th March 2020, the Superintendent of Public Health has ordered the closure of all courts or any courts, for the purpose of guarding against and, or controlling dangerous epidemics or infectious disease. As a result, Legal Notice 75/2020 [1] has brought into effect the suspension of the running of all the legal terms imposed on a Notary Public by law:
These terms shall be suspended whilst the Order for Closure is in force without the need of any signatures or formal renewals by the parties and the suspension shall last until twenty (20) days following the repeal of any such order by the Superintendent. Below, a few frequently-asked questions are answered in order to put minds at rest. 1. I am currently on a promise of sale agreement to buy/sell property, what happens now? This Legal Notice has suspended the running of time of the agreement without any need of signatures or formal renewals by the parties. Thus, once the Order for Closure is lifted, all terms shall resume 20 days after such lifting of the order. It is important to note that the Legal Notice speaks of a suspension of legal terms and not an extension. It is incorrect to simply add on 20 days to the expiry date of the promise of sale agreement. By way of example, therefore, if a promise of sale is to expire on the 30th May 2020, one is to count the number of days between the 16th March 2020 and the 30th May 2020 (75 days) and add a further 20 days, but only once the order for closure is lifted. This would mean that the final deed of sale would need to be published by the 95th day from when the Superintendent of Public Health declares the opening of Courts. It must be noted that Notaries are still able to carry out work related to the file (such as ordering and vetting searches, submitting land registry site plans etc) as the relevant Government Departments are (at time of writing) still functioning remotely albeit with skeleton staff. Work has definitely slowed down but is continuing. With regards to the publications of contracts Notaries are following the health authorities' recommendation of extended social distancing, in the greater interest of public health, and therefore are only publishing contracts which cannot be delayed. The signing of contracts electronically or remotely is not yet possible in Malta and thus are deemed to have no binding effect on the parties. 2. I wish to enter into a Promise of Sale Agreement but do not wish to meet the sellers/buyers in person, can we sign the agreement electronically/remotely? No. As stipulated in the Electronic Commerce Act (Chapter 426 of the Laws of Malta), agreements pertaining to transfers of immovable property and real rights are not legally binding in electronic form. 3. I have inherited property and I need to sign a deed of Declaration Causa Mortis within 6 months from the date of death of my relative, in order to get the €250 rebate on succession duty. Can the deed be published? This term has also been suspended by virtue of Legal Notice 75/2020 and thus deeds of Declaration Causa Mortis can wait to be published until after the Order for Closure is lifted. It is still possible for the Notary to order testamentary searches and submit the necessary paperwork for the banks to release the funds of the deceased. 4. Is it still possible to have my will published? Yes, wills are still being published, however the Notary must follow the health authorities' recommendation of extended social distancing to ensure the safeguarding of public health. The testator will be asked to discuss his/her testamentary wishes over the phone or through video conferencing in order to minimize physical contact, and the Notary may also ask the testator to provide two witnesses (instead of the Notary bringing them). The actual publication of the will cannot take place online or remotely and thus the Notary and the two witnesses must be physically present (standing the recommended 2 metres apart) in order for the will to be published and signed by the testator/s, witnesses and Notary. Although the Notary still has the possibility of registering the will with the Public Registry, the term within which such registration must take place is currently suspended and hence the Notary may opt to register the will once the Order of Closure is lifted. For any further questions: [email protected] Disclaimer: the information provided in this article does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available in this article are for general informational purposes only. Information found in this article may not constitute the most up-to-date legal or other information. This article contains links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser. Readers of this article should contact their Notary or Lawyer to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter. The views expressed at, or through, this article are those of the authors writing in her individual capacities only. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this article are hereby expressly disclaimed. The content on this posting is provided "as is;" no representations are made that the content is error-free. [1]http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lp&itemid=30002&l=1&fbclid=IwAR28_OuBoNPBqdKnCzi0WjVnQj9QArMjiWRFuK6r3uvA8oOZ10m0karDH4w Dr. Nicole Cannataci [Associate FSGM.Partners] How are businesses tackling COVID-19?
The world is currently in a state of pandemic. COVID-19 has taken over and affected thousands of lives all over the world, leaving many futures uncertain. Economies will take a significant hit globally, and many plans set to happen this year, be them business or leisure, have been cancelled. Therefore, the question stands; how are businesses, particularly those responsible for one’s travel plans, handling the impact of COVID-19? Information below is based on information publicly available as at 30th March 2020. Airlines As the spread of COVID-19 increases drastically all over the world, many countries have banned flights entering into and leaving their countries, in order to attempt to combat this tragic pandemic. But what does this mean for the average consumer who made travel plans and purchased flights during this time? AirMalta As per AirMalta’s notice on the 4th of March, customers who have booked a flight with the airline prior to the 4th of March are able to alter both their travel date and destination for “€10 per passenger per sector, plus the applicable fare difference and taxes” [1]. No refund option is available for said customers. On the other hand, customers who have booked a flight on the 4th of March or the following days, do have the option to request a refund for their flight, as well as to reschedule their flights to a later stage, yet the same €10 fee for such changes still applies. In both scenarios, all flights must be completed by the 31st December 2020. Yet, unfortunately, those customers who, in light of the spread of COVID-19, had already altered or cancelled their flight itinerary prior to the aforementioned communication by the airline on the 4th of March, do not benefit from any of the above options. One could argue that this position taken by the airline may constitute an abuse of force majeure, with the airline using COVID-19 as an excuse for the non-performance of its obligations to its customers, but to arrive to such a conclusion, one would need to carefully analyse the contractual obligation entered into between the customer and AirMalta. RyanAir Ryanair has taken a friendlier approach to this current pandemic. If a customer has booked a flight with the airline, only to have that flight cancelled due to COVID-19, all customers are first notified of such cancellation via email or SMS and are then given the following options; either to request a refund, to rebook their journey at a later date or even re-reroute their journey [2] to avoid countries severely affected by the virus. Such options may be accompanied by fees, but it is evident that this airline provides a wider variety of options than the one above. Accommodation Similarly, businesses who offer accommodation services are also cancelling customer reservations to attempt to control the spread of the virus. How will this affect the average consumer who reserved a hotel room or an apartment abroad? Booking.com The website has declared a force majeure circumstance due to the global pandemic and for the utmost safety of both its partners and its guests, reservations for accommodation in areas severely affected by the virus are cancelled. Furthermore, the website has made it obligatory that its partners (including landlords, hotels, hostels etc.) waive any cancellation costs including fees, expenses and/or other amounts [3] for its customers affected by such cancellations. The business goes on to state that where landlords or property owners have closed their doors, out of their own choice, due to the pandemic, such property owners are to refund their clients in full for their cancelled reservation. Air B’n’B While this business hasn’t declared a force majeure like the one above, it has still implemented sufficient measures to assist its customers in these difficult times. For those customers who booked accommodation using the website on or before the 14th March 2020, for a stay between March 14th and April 14th 2020, these customers are entitled to a free cancellation. This not only includes a free cancellation, but also a full refund for the customer as well as a free cancellation for hosts too. For those reservations made after the 14th March 2020, one cannot argue that this business is abusing a force majeure circumstance, for not refunding its customers during this time. The World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a pandemic on the 11th of March 2020, therefore any reservations made from the 14th of March onwards contain an element of foreseeability to the potential cancellation of the reservation due to the virus. Under their extenuating circumstances policy, the business has catered for such cancellation of reservation made after the 14th of March only in scenarios where either the guest or the host has fallen victim to COVID-19. COVID-19 has and will continue to affect businesses worldwide, and its full impact on the economy still has to be seen. Whereas many businesses are offering cancellation services, refunds and other options to aid their customers in this troubling time, it is important to analyse each service provider’s terms and conditions, especially in relation to force majeure circumstances. Please direct all your queries to [email protected] This Article is made available by FSGM.Partners for educational purposes. It provides general information and a general understanding of the law, but does not provide specific legal advice. By using this site, commenting on posts, or sending inquiries through the site or contact email, you confirm that there is no attorney-client relationship between you and the Blog/Web Site publisher. The Blog/Web Site should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from your legal adviser. [1] https://www.airmalta.com/information/about/news-overview/news-detail/010-2020-en [2] https://www.ryanair.com/ie/en/useful-info/disruptions-and-refunds/coronavirus-covid-19 [3] https://partner.booking.com/en-gb/help/legal-security/important-information-regarding-coronavirus |
FSGM.PartnersLaw Firm in Valletta Malta. Archives
May 2020
Categories |
RSS Feed
|
©2024 FSGM.Partners
|