By virtue of Legal Notice 176 and Legal Notice 177, changes have been made to previous legal notices dealing with closure of the Courts and suspension of legal times. Whereas the suspension of legal times remains in force through L.N. 176, the order of the closure of the courts has been partially revoked through L.N. 177.

As of today, the 4th of May, the registry of the Courts, both criminal and civil, will be open. While the registry of the Courts is expected to have its operations in full swing as of Monday 25th May, certain precautionary measures have been put into place, starting today, in order to limit and prevent the further spread of COVID-19. These include, but are not limited to, the following; (a) social distancing measures, including only a limited number of individuals entering the registry at the same time (b) compulsory use of hand sanitizer and appropriate masks and visors upon entry to the registry, and (c) compulsory temperature readings prior to entry to the registry.
 
In regard to L.N. 176 and L.N. 141 of 2020, which stipulate the suspension of legal and judicial times, both are still in force, and further guidance is to be provided alongside the future development of the virus and the relevant respective guidelines to be given by the Superintendent of Public Health.
 
It is also important to note that, despite the full gradual reopening of registry of the courts, for the time being, as far as the Court itself is concerned, the situation remains the same i.e. no court sittings and processes are to be held unless in cases of; (a) urgency and (b) where the public interest prevails.
 
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. 

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:

• Mortgages
• Business and commercial loans
• Buy-to-let loans
• Personal loans
• Bullet loans
• Overdrafts
• Bills of exchange (including endorsed pour aval),
• Promissory notes
• Guarantees
• Indemnities
• Acceptances

The duration of the moratorium shall be for a period of six (6) months, however, the Minister may, after consultation with the Minister for Finance and Financial Services, extend the duration of the moratorium by notice published in the Gazette.

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.

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:

• Acts relating to personal separation cases;
• Acts relating to divorce or annulment cases;
• Acts relating to maintenance matters;
• Acts relating to filiation or paternity procedures;
• Acts relating to child abduction or custody matters;
• Executive or precautionary acts (all type of warrants, including judicial sale) ;

The exigencies of these type of judicial acts has driven the legislator to waive off the extra judicial costs since such acts require immediate and efficient intervention since the parties may end up suffering irremediable prejudice if not filed.
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. 

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:

• to register any deed, will, act or private writing;
• to pay taxes collected by him/her in the exercise of his/her profession or any term related to fiscal benefits, incentives or exemptions;
• to submit any information or documentation to any authority or regulator pursuant to relevant notarial activity and;
• any expiration of any term in any promise of sale agreement duly registered in terms of law with the Commissioner of Revenue within the period established by law, has also been suspended;

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

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

The Government, by order of the Superintendent of Public Health, has introduced three legal notices which enforce the closing of law courts, the suspending of legal and judicial times during the current COVI D-19 pandemic:

The Legal Notices are summarized as followed:

L.N. 65 of 2020 – Closure of the Courts of Justice Order, 2020. 
The Courts and the Court’s registry, together with all Tribunals, with effect from the 16th of March, 2020, have been closed until such order is repealed by the Superintendent of Public Health. All cases will be deferred to a later date.

L.N. 61 of 2020 – Epidemics and Infectious Disease (Suspension of Legal and Judicial Times) Order, 2020.

This legal notice suspends the running of all legal and judicial times and of any other time limits with effect from the 16th of March, including peremptory periods applicable to proceedings or other procedures before the Courts, while the Courts and the Court’s registry remain closed. The suspension shall last until seven (7) days when Legal Notice 65 of 2020 (explained above) has been repealed and thus when the Courts and the Court’s registry have reopened. 

L.N. 75 of 2020 – Suspension of Legal Times relating to Promise of Sale Agreements, Notarial and other related matters (Epidemics and Infectious Disease) Order, 2020.

This order, with effect from the 16th of March, brings into effect the suspension of the lapse of time on the following:
(i) all legal terms imposed on a notary public by law to register any deed, will, act or private writing or any period within which the notary public, in terms of any applicable law, must pay taxes collected by him in the exercise of his profession;
(ii) any term related to fiscal benefits, incentives or exemptions or any period within which a notary public is to submit any information or documentation to any authority or regulator pursuant to relevant notarial activity; and
(iii) any expiration term in any promise of sale agreement (konvenju) duly registered in terms of law with the Commissioner of Revenue within the period established by law. This suspension mechanism shall also apply to “any term in any promise of sale agreement” which includes bank loans, planning permits and any other conditions which must be actioned in terms of the promise of sale agreement.

​The above terms stipulated in this legal notice shall be automatically suspended, without the need of any signatures or formal renewals by the parties, during such time until L.N. 65 of 2020 (Closure of the Courts of Justice Order, 2020) remains in force and the suspension shall last until twenty (20) days following the repeal of L.N. 65 of 2020.

This effectively means that if the term of a promise of sale agreement (konvenju) expires after the 16th of March 2020 and during the days which the Court and its registry remain closed, that term is suspended and will start to run again from the day the order of closure is repealed and for an additional twenty (20) days after such date.

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. ​

Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights dictates the fundamental human right of respect for private and family life i.e. the right to privacy. Given the technological and medical advances in our global society, many have seen the increase in exercise of this human right, as the greater the steps in technology, unfortunately the greater the potential breaches to privacy.
 
Article 8 states that “everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence”. This being a fundamental human right, it carries immense weight and is indeed one of the first provisions of law resorted to, worldwide, in cases of breaches of privacy. Furthermore, with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation in May of 2018, a greater emphasis has been made onto the privacy and data protection rights of the individual, resulting in individuals or data subjects in the European Union and their rights being protected from a wide variety of potential data attacks. But, despite the great importance of the existence of such rights, including fundamental human rights, they are not absolute.
 
The world is currently amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. With numerous governments around the globe implementing safety measures and procedures to counteract such a pandemic, such as the urge from governments to disclose potential patients of the virus, one may state that individuals’ personal data is at stake. And they would be right.
 
The crux of the matter is this: when one is aware of an individual who has (unfortunately) contracted COVID-19, are you bound by law to respect that individual’s right to privacy and keep silent? Or are you, on the other hand, bound by law to disclose such information to the relevant authorities?
 
As stated above, human rights are not absolute and here’s why. The same Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights goes on to state that “there shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others”. This means that whenever the interests of national security, public safety, the protection of health, and the protection of the rights and freedoms of others supersede the right to privacy of the infected individual, as is the current case in Malta with COVID-19, where the prevention of the spread of the pandemic is of higher importance than the right of privacy of the infected individual, then yes, the law allows for the disclosure of such patient information.
 
The General Data Protection Regulation further supports this argument, as Article 9 of the same prohibits the processing of special categories of an individual’s personal data, including health data. Yet, once again, this right is not absolute as Article 9 goes on to list the exceptions of such right, more specifically Article 9(2)(g),(h) and (i), which state that the processing, which includes the disclosure, of such health data pertaining to COVID-19 patients, is not prohibited where:
 
“processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest, on the basis of Union or Member State law which shall be proportionate to the aim pursued, respect the essence of the right to data protection and provide for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject”;
 
“processing is necessary for the purposes of preventive or occupational medicine, for the assessment of the working capacity of the employee, medical diagnosis, the provision of health or social care or treatment or the management of health or social care systems and services on the basis of Union or Member State law or pursuant to contract with a health professional and subject to the conditions and safeguards referred to in paragraph 3”;
 
“processing is necessary for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health or ensuring high standards of quality and safety of health care and of medicinal products or medical devices, on the basis of Union or Member State law which provides for suitable and specific measures to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the data subject, in particular professional secrecy”;
 
Therefore, even the General Data Protection Regulation caters for such instances such as the current one present in Malta due to COVID-19. Normally, the individual or data subject cannot have its health data disclosed by other individuals or entities, yet in exceptional cases such as the present one due to COVID-19, “for reasons of public interest in the area of public health, such as protecting against serious cross-border threats to health”, the disclosure of such health data pertaining to affected individuals to the relevant authorities once again supersedes the right of the COVID patient to privacy. 

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. 

Full time employees of enterprises operating in sectors that suffered drastically due to the COVID-19 pandemic or had to temporarily suspend operations on the order of the Superintendent of Public Health will be entitled to up to five days’ salary based on a monthly wage of €800. This includes all self-employed. Part-time employees will be eligible up to €500 per month. Click here for a list of sectors by NACE.

Full time employees of enterprises in other adversely affected sectors including wholesale, manufacturing and warehousing will be entitled to one days’ salary per month. Part-time employees will be eligible to one day’s salary per week, equivalent to €100 per month. In the case of Gozo based enterprises this will increase to two days’ salary per week equivalent to €320 per month for full time employees, and €200 per month for part time employees. Click here for a list of sectors by NACE.

In case of self-employed in other adversely affected sectors who have employees will be entitled to two-days’ salary per week equivalent to €320 per month.

Self-employed based in Gozo operating in other adversely affected sectors will be entitled to 2 days’ salary per week equivalent to €320 per month. This will increase to 3 days salary, equivalent to €480, for those self-employed who employ staff, and the employees will be entitled to two days’ salary per week. 

​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. 

The Government has launched to following incentives for businesses affected by Covid-19.

• Fiscal assistance – Postponement of payment of certain taxes
• Facilitation of Teleworking activities
• Quarantine Leave scheme

1. Fiscal assistance – Postponement of payment of certain taxes
This incentive gives a two-month extension to enterprises, including self-employed, to pay Provisional Tax, VAT and National Insurance Contribution on Salaries. This will apply for taxes owed till end of April.
All tax forms should be submitted according to normal deadlines. The incentive is primarily aimed, but not limited to, the tourism and hospitality, entertainment, transport and manufacturing sectors that are being affected by COVID-19.

Application is to be made not later than 15th April 2020. Click here for full guidelines

​2. Facilitation of Teleworking activities
This call supports Employers/ Self-employed to invest in technology that enables teleworking and to partially cover the costs of teleworking solutions. Support shall be limited up to €500 per teleworking agreement and €4,000 per undertaking.

The grant shall be awarded against 45% of the eligible cost. This call is eligible for costs incurred between 1st March and 30th March 2020. Total support under this call shall be capped at €2M.

This call closes on 30th March 2020 and full details can be found here.

3. Quarantine Leave scheme
€350 grant to employers for each employee on Quarantine leave. Application will be online from Wednesday 25th March
More details regarding applications and guidelines to follow.

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.