ACT No. V 011995 AN ACTIo tl'(lblish the Small Claims Tribwwl. (almoomentof)

I assent.

(L.S.)

Uoo MIFSUD BONNICI

President

17th March, 1995

ACT No. V 011995

AN ACTIo tl'(lblish the Small Claims Tribwwl.

BE IT ENAC I EO by the President , by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in Ihis present Parliament

assembled , and by the authorit), of the same, as follows:-

(I)

This Act may be cited as the Small Qaims Tribunal Act,

1995. (2) This Act shall come into force on such date as the

Minister responsible for justice may by oolice in the Gazette appoint

and different dales may be so appointed for diffe rent provisions and

different purpcses of Ihis Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

~ Adjudica tor

H

means an Arbiter of the Tribunal appointed in

aocordance with section 4 of Ihis Act ;

" Minister" means the Minister responsible for justice

"Registrar" means the Registrar of Couns appointed under

the Code of Organization and Civil PiOccdure ;

"Tribunal" means the Small Claims Tribunal established

under section 3 of this Act.

(I)

The re shall be a Tribunal to be styled the Small Qaims

T ribunal.

(2) Subject to subsection (5) of this section , the Small Oaims

Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and de lenni ne only all money

claims of an amount not exceeding onc hundred Maltese liri .

(3) (a) If the plaintiff claims payment of several sums due

for the same cause, the value of the claim is to bedetennined by the

total amount of the claims.

(b) If the plaintiff claims payment of several sums due

for differen t causes, the value of the claim is determined by the

highest sum, irrespective of the smaller sums.

(c) If the claim is for capital and interest , the value is

determin ed by the aggregate amount of capital and interest.

(4) The Tribunal shall hold its siltings in such place or places

in Malta and GOlO as the Minister may by order in the Gazette

determine and the Tribunal shall, as far as practicable, hold the si ttings

in the Island where the person against whom the claim is made has his

ordinary residence.

( 5) Causes involving questions of ownershi p of immovable

property. or relating 10 easements.. burdens or other rights an nexed to

such property. eyen though the claim does not exceed one hundred

Maltese liri , and causes of ejectmem or eviction from immovable

property shall not fall within the jurisdiction ofthc Tribunal.

(1) The Tribunal shall be presided by an Adjudicator sitting Adjudk:olon.

alone

Provided that more than one Adjudicator may be appointed to

sit in any of the said Tribunals, bu t only one Adjudicato r shall sit in any

o ne case.

(2) Adjudicators shall be appointed by the Prime Ministe r.

No person shall be qualified to be appoin ted Adjudicator unless such

person -

(a)

is a citizen of Malta over the age of thirty years; and

(b)

holds the warrant and has practised the profession o f

(i)

advocate for a period of at least one yea r , or

(ii)

legal procurator for at least three years.

(3) A person shall be disqualified to be appointed

Adjudicator if soch person

(a)

is a member of the House of Representatives; or

(b)

isamemberofaVxal Cou ncil j or

(c)

is an undischa rged bankrupt; or

(d) has been sentenced by any court 10 imprisonme nt for an y

term or has been fou nd gUilty by any court of any o f the cri mes in

Titles 1II , V or VI o f Part U of Book First o f the Criminal Code.

(4) Adj udicators shall receive re mune ration as the Prime

MiniSle r may by notice in the Gazelle determ ine , and shall not be

precluded from th e exercise of their respective profession.

(5) Adjudica tors shall be appointed for a term oflhree yean

and shall be eligible 10 be re-appoin ted for a furthe r term o r terms of

three years each.

(6) In the exercise of his functions unde r this Act an

Adjudicator shall nol be subjecllo the control or direction of any other

person or aut hority and may not be re moved from office exce pt by the

Court of Appeal on an application for that purpose by the Prime

Ministe r on the grou nds of misbehaviour or inability to pe rform his

functions by reason of infirmity of body or mind .

An Adjudicator shall abstain and may be challenged in the

S.

same circumstalfces as a judge of the Superior Courts.

Every person appointed as an Adj ud icalor shall not assume the

functions o f his office unless and unti l he has taken before the A ttorney

General an oath to examine and decide the eases brought before him

witho ut delay, wit h im partiality and equity acco rding to law .

( I) The T ri bunal shall determine any claim or counterclaim

before it princi pally in accordance with eq uity

Provided that , in any case, any ques tion of prescription shall

be determined acco rding to law.

(2)

The Tribunal shall suspe nd its proceedings if: -

(a) the claim is sought to be avoided by way of defe nce,

involving an issue outside the Tribunal's jurisdiction; and/or

(b) there is pending before a competent court an action , the

outcome of which would affect the claim before the Tribuna l.

( I) An appea l shall lie from a decision of a Tribunal to the

Coun of Appeal composed of o ne judge only in accordance with

subsection (6) of section 41 of the Code of Organization and Civil

Proced ure . Such appeal shall be entered by an application to be fi led

within eighteen days.

(2)

An appeal shall only lie in the following cases

(a)

on any malle r re lating to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal;

(b)

on any questio n of prescri ption;

(c) on any non-compliance with the provisions ofsubsection

(2) orsection 7;

(d) where the Tribunal has acted in a serious manner

contrary to the rules of impartiality and equity according to law and

web action has prejudiced the rights of the appellant .

(3) Where the Court of Appeal finds that the grounds for

appeal are justified it shall quash the decision of the Tribunal and shall

itself detennine the o riginal claim and counterclaim in accordance with

the provisions of section 7.

(1) Subject to the provisions of any rules made in accordance P ..... t"R.

with section 16 of this Act and to the provisions of subsection (2) of this

section, an Adjudicator shall regulate the proceedings before a Tribunal

~ s he thinks fit in accordance with the rules of natural justice.

(2) Subiect to any rules referred to in subsection (1) of this

section, an Adjlldicator-

(a) shall ensure that a case is heard and decided summarily,

as far as possible, on the same day of the hearing and that the

hearing shall not' take longer than one sitting;

(b) he shall inform himself in any manne r be thinks fit and

shall not be bound by th e rules of best evidence or the rules relative

to hearsay evidence if he is satisfied that the evidence before him is

sufficiently reliable for him to reach a conclusion on the case before

him , '

(c) he shall refrain as far as possible from appointingreferees

to give expert evidence, and shall where experts are appointed

make out a list of facts upon which the expert is to gi ve evidence;

(d) shall only list out the main points upon which his decision

is based ; and

(e) shall have the same power as a Magistrate sitting in a

Court of Magistrates in its civil jurisdiction and in particular shall

have power to summon wilnesses and 10 admi nister an oath to

witnesses.

(3) No proceedings before the Tribu nal shall be invalid

because of the non-observance of any formalities if there has been

substantial compliance with this Act or any rul es made thereunder.

(1) In any award the Adjudicator shall de termine the costs Cooualld

that any o f the parties is to bear. Unless special circumstances otherwise .nfor~ment .

warranlthe losing party shall be ordered to pay the costs of the pany in

whose favour the decision is awarded.

(2) Costs shall be limited to actual expenses directly made in

connection wit h the case by the party in whose favour the payment of

costs is awarded

Provided tha t in no case shall costs be awa rded iD connection

with any expenses consisting of legal fees o r any fees however 50 called

and paid by any of the panies to advocates, legal procurators or any

other person assisti ng the parties before the Tribunal.

(3) In the case of a vexatious or frivolous claim the Tribunal

may order the claimant to pay 10 the defendant a penalty of not more

Ihan fifty Maltese liri , which penalty shall be due as a civil debt.

A decision orlhe Tribunal which has become res judicato

(4)

may be enforced, depending on the residence of the person against

whom enforcement is sough t , by the Court of Magistrates (Malla) or by

the Court of Magistrates (Gozo), as if the decision was a judgment of the

respective Court.

11 . ( 1) The Registry of the Court of Magistrates (Malta) shall

be the registry o f th e Tribunal

Provided that acts may be filed in the Registry of the Court of

Magistrates (Gozo), for the transmission to the Registry of the Court of

Magistrates (Malla). .

(2) The records of the Tribunal shall be accessible to al\

persons, and copies thereof shall be given on payment of the prescribed

fee 10 any person on request.

(3) The acts of Ihe Tribunal shall be deposited and kept in

the archives of the courts of justice in Mal ta .

(4) The Minister may by regulations prescribe what records

an d acts may be kept in duplicate in the Registry of the Court of

Magistrales (Gozo).

(I) The Registra r shall be responsible for the running of the

Tri bunal. The Registrar shall also perform any o ther duties which may

be incumbent upon him under this Act or any rules made thereunder.

(2) The duties of Registrar of the Tribunal shall be carried

out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Organization and

Civil Procedure.

( I) Ir· Rcgistrat ur iku n responsabbli g,I'Ial-tmcDija tal, Dmirijie.

Tribunal. Ir. Registratur gl'l ll nd u wkolljaqdi ku ll dmir ic ho r Ii jista ' jaqa ' ..... R<p. ... ur.

fuqu tal'lt dan I· Attjcw taht xi rcgoli magl'lmula taht dan I· AII .

(2) Id-dmirijic l ta' Rcgistratur tat-Tribunal ghandhom jigu

esegwiti skond id-dispotizzjonijict tal -Kodia ta ' Organizzazzjoni u

Protedu ra Civili.

If an y o f the parties fa ils to appear on the date appointed for

the heari ng of the cause, the Adjudicator shall adjourn the cause for

another date and if on such other da te -

(a) the claimant fails to appear, the Adjudicato r shall dismiss

the cause and o rder the costs 10 be borne by the claimant;

(b) the defendant fails to appear, the Adjudicator is to hear

and determi ne the cause in the abse nce of the defendant .

The parties may be assisted by any peT$On .

TIle provisions of the Judicial Proceedings (Use of English L.o~~u.~of

Language) Act shall apply to the Tribunal.

The Minister may make rules for the better functioning of the Rules.

Tribunal and may without prejudice to the generality hereof make

m les -

(a) setting out the procedure before the Tribunal or in

appeals from the Tribunal ;

(b) establishing the fonns that arc to be used in proceedings

before the Tribunal or in appeals from the Tribunal;

(c) establishing rates of costs in proceedings before the

Tribunal;

(d) establishing the fees that may be due 10 the registry of the

Tribunal;

(e) establishing the fees that may be due to advocates and

legal procurators appearing before the Tribunal;

(f) setting out the duties of Registrar in relation to the

Tribunal;

(g) prescribing anything that mayor is to be prescribed in

accordance with this Act.

The expenses in connection with the administration of the &'penditurc of

Tribunal and the remuneration due to Adjudicators shall be paid out of Tribunal.

the Consolidated Fund without the necessity of any further

appropriation.

Immediately after section 56 of the Code of Organization and

Civil Procedure, there shaU be added the following new section;

56A. Notwithstanding any of the provisions of this

Code the Inferior Courts shall not take oognizance of any

claim falling within the jurisdiction of the Small Oaims

Tribunal established under the Small Claims Tribunal Act,

1995 .~ .

Causes which on the coming into force of this Act are pending Transito')'

before the Court of Magistrates shall oontinue to be heard and provision.

determined before the said Court unless all the parties in such case agree

Ihat the said case shall be decided by the Tribunal , in which cue the acts

shall be transmitted by the Registrar to the Tribunal which shall

notwithstanding the provisions of section 10 also decide on the costs

incurred before the Court of Magistrates. In such case the cause before

the Court of Magistrates shall be taxed as if the case were withdrawn.

lOo Immediate ly after the definition of "Minister" in section 2 of

""",ildmentlOil>e

"!foln the Consumer Affairs Act , 1994, the re shall be inserted the following

-'-6 ..

.... "loon

.. "ordinary court" for the pwpcps of Part m of this Act in-

cludes the Small Oaims Tribunal established under the SmaU

C1aimsTribunal Act. 1995;" ,

Passed by the House of Represe ntatives lit Sitting No. 401 of 81h March, 1995.

L AWRENCE GONU

SfHaker

RI CHA RD 1 . C AUCHI

Clerk to the House of ReprtStntQtiveJ

Minnufih wan I·tifsira ta' "oggelli" f]·artikolu 2 ta'l·An la' I·

1994 dwar I.Affarijiet tal-Konsumatur ahandba lidhol it·lifsira li tejja

.. "qorti ordinarja" ghall-fin~~at-Taq5ima III la' dan I·AII

tinkludi I· Tribunal ghal Talbict

imwaqqaf bl·Att la' 1·1995

dwar it·Tribunal ghal :ralbicl Zahari" .

Mgboddi mill·Kamra tad· Dcputali fis..Scduta Nru. 401 tal-8 ta' Manu, J99S.

LAWREN CE GON Z I

Sptaker

RICHARD J. C." UCHI

Skrivan lal· Kamra I4d· Depula/i