35 tal-1993

I •. N. 3S of 1993

CODE m' ORGANlZATlON AND CIVlL PROCEDURE

(CAP. 11)

Court PracU« and Proa-dUR Rulo:s, 1993

ruE President of Malla approved !he following Rules of Coun

made by the Rule Making Hoard constituted in terms of ~n 29 of Ihe

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure. These Rules consolidate

previou~ RulesofCoun .

These RulenhaU bcciled :utile Court Practice and P'l ocedure

Rules, 1993. and shall oome into force o n the 15th April. 1993.

Proceedings before the Civil Court First Hall under subsection

( 1) of section 46 of the Constitution of Malta and pr(l(:eroings before the

Constitutional Coun in ",sa rderTed 10 in wbsection (2) of section 9S

of the Constitution of Mal tu hall be instituted by appllicalioo.

( I) An application before the Civil Coun First Hall silall51BIC

oon~1y and clearly the facts out of which the complaint arises and shall

indicate the provision o r ~ of Uw: Constitution alleged IQ Ilave

been , 10 be o r likely lobe contravened.

(2) The application shall al50 specify the redress sought by

the applicant

ProvMkd Ihal it shall be Ia .... ful for the Court. if !be applicalion

is allowed. 10 give any Olher redress Wilhin ib jurisdiction which il may

consider to be more appropriate.

(3) In ClIY'$ refelTed to in paragraph (I) of wbscction (2) of

section 9S of !be Constitution of Malll. !be application before !be

Consti tutional Court shall Slate clearly and mncisc:ly!be circwnstlnces

OUI of which th e que"ion arises. Ihe demand and Ihe provision o r

provisions of Ihe Conslillltion Or of any olher Law on which the: applicanl

rc:lie<! .

(4) In cases rc:fel'TCd 10 in paragraphs (b) , (c) and (d) of

subsection (2) ofscction 95 oftheConslilUtion of Malta. !be application

shan Slate clear ly and oo~ ly the circumstances out of wh ich the

appeal arises. thc reasons of appeal and the prayer for the revcn.al or a

specific variation of the decision appealed from .

(S) Default of oompliallCZ in the application wilh the

requirementS of paragraphs (I). (2), (3) and (4) of tbis Rule shall not

render the application null; but the Court may. in any such ease. order

the a~licanl 10 ri le within such lime as the Court shall fu:. a note

conla,"ing the particulars required and the costs of such order shall be

borne by the applicant.

In the '1"~ referred to the Civil Coo" FInt Hall as

( I)

provided in sub:lection ( I) of section 46 or in the caces referred to in

paragraphs (b) , (e) and (d) of wbo;ection (2) of lCCtion 9S of the

C(lrulitutioQ of Malta. the application shall be served 0<\ the dcfo:ndant

or tile respondent without delay and the Court shall fIX a date for hearing

wit hin eight work illl days from the date of the filing of the application .

or from the riling of a reply by respondenlwilhin the time limit there fo r.

or if no s...ch reply is filed from the expiryof weh lime.

(2)

ll1e application of appeal shall be made within eight

working days from the dale of the decision appealed from. aoo the

respondent mD)' file a wriucn reply with in si.'< working days rrom the dale

of service.

(3) The Coun by which a decision is given. wbjcct IOappuJ

to Ihe Constitu tion al Coun, may in urgent cases upon demand , even

verbal by DDy of the parties immediate ly upon delivery ofsudl de<:ision,

abridge the time for mak ing Ihe appeal or for the filing of. reply.

If no such demand is made by any of the parties immediately

upon the delivery of the judgt:mertl , any one of the panioe:$ may make

such a demand by application , upon .... hich . the court .... hich pvc the

decision shall. after summarily hearing !he parties if il thinks ,..,...( smy,

give the requisi te order.

(I) In the cases n:lerm:lto in sub5ection (3) of section 46 . nd

in the proviso 10 sub$ection (2) of ~ 95 of the Consti lution of Malta

the order of n:fe .... noc shall Slate conci5c:ly and clearly the facts and the

ci rcu mstallCe$ out 01 .... hich the question arises. the tenns of such

q ueslion and indicate the provision or provisions of the Constitution

allegedly contrave ned.

(2) When any such n: fcrcnce has bun made. il shaU be the

duty of the Registrar 10 ensure thal Ihe record of the proceedings ili

broughl before the Court 10 which the reference ili made wilhout any

de lay and wilh urgency.

(3) The Court to wh ich file refen:nce haJ!; ~n made shall.

upon any such reference. set down the tluse for bearing at an early date.

in no case later than eig,11I work i", days from the date 00 whid! lhe

recoro is broughl befou it and shall tlUiC notice of SlId! dale 10 be given

10 lhe parties.

Once a case has been set down for hearing the Court $hall

ensuTC thal. oonsistendy wilh the d~ and p.opc:r administniilion of

justice. the hearing and disposal of !he case shall be expeditious, and the

Ileanng of the caUiC shall con tinue 10 be heard on comcculivc days, and

where thili is not possible on dates dose to onc another .

Saving what is provided for in thC5C Rules, file Coun practice

and procedures shan mu/Olis muumdu apply before the avil Couru

First Hall and the Constitutional Court referred to in Rule 2

aforementioned.

( I) Ca~ made under the ConsrlMion and under tbo

European Conven1ion Act , as well as those causes that are to be heard

with urgeocy shall be set down for hearing in the artemCXIn wherever

this is nee' ... ry Kl M IIOt to disrupt the pre-planne<.l wor):: schedule of

the Court. and shall continue 10 be Kl heard on consecutive days until

the hcaring of the cause is clO$Cd. and lhe caUK is adjourned for

judgment .

(2) However. tbo:: Court may not appoim for hearing

be\W~n the 1st of July and the JOth of September of each year

proceedings referred 10 in Rule 2 of these Rules when the$e an

commc~d within the period if in the: opi nion of Ihe Court such

procftdinp of tbeir very nature need not be dealt with any particular

haste and none of !he panics will suffer any prejudioc if the hearing

takes place in the month of October.

In making the list referred to in !oCctlan 194 of the Code of

Organiuuion and Civil Procedure , tbo:: Registrar shall act in accordance

wilh such instructions as may be given to him by tbo:: Court which $hall

ensure that . as far as possible, causes shall be heard and d, cHkd in the

chronological order of the dale of filing of the act with which the cause

was introduced, in the: Registry of the Court. Not all callSCS ready for

hearing shall be inserted in the list, but only as many as the judge

consideR he can deal with in any part icular sitti ng

So however that without prejudice to anything contained in

Dny mher law, priofiry shall be given in sell ing a cause for hearing and in

the hearing thereof to -

(i)

casnofretrial

<ii) spoliation suits referred 10 in section 791 of the Code of

Organization and Ci vil P~dure;

(iii) cascsofcontemptofCoun

(iv) case:'. which of their natUTe TCquire ~o be [reated with

greater e~pedit iou$neS5.

Witnesses summoned for a particular silting shall as far as

possible be lreard at ~uch silting.

For the pu~ of sections 195 and 212 of the Code of

Organlzution and Ci"il Procedure. the following may be deemed to be

e~ceptional ci rcumst8rwxs ju§tifying an application for the adjournment

of 8 caust

(a)

tIK: temporary iUnessof couMd ;

(b) the agreement between the parties for the adfournment

of lhe cause re~ived by the Court at least 48 hours befoTe the date

of hearing . unless in the Opinion of the court such agreement

unrcH$ORably delays Ihe conclusion of the procecdinp; and

et) any other uo;eptional tirtumst al\Oe~ which the COun

considc11I IO be very serious and sufficient.

In every case lhe circumstances; justifying the reque$l and

cono;ession of an adjournment shall be recorded in the acts o f the

proceedings.

(I) Evidence in a cause shall be heard eith<:rdirectly by the

Court or by means of an affidavi t e~<:ept in those cases where the nature

of the case requires proof by a techn ica l re fe ree who shall as fa r as

po55ible assist the Court whe n the evidence is heard by it ""VII voa. and

whe re a need arises such evidence may be heMrd by the referee. also with

the assistaO<:e o f ~ Legal Referee or a Judicial Assislant . in a si ning fixed

fo r the purpose.

('Z) The Court shall on the: Iirn si n ing of. cause e nsure that

the dispu ted is.sues of fact and of law in lhe cause are idenlifled and

reco rded in the acts o f the proceedings. and that the particf. shall

indicate and record in Ihe acts of the procccdinJS the specific object o f

each witness inditated by the m acwrding 105CCtion 561. abotoensure .

among other things. the proper application o f $eCtion SSS of the: Code of

Orga ni7.a tion and Civil Procedure .

(3)

During the first sining of each cue the coun shall

(a) either fix a d a te or consecutive d a tes for the hearing o f all

the witnesses of the panics up to the adjournmen t o f the cause for

judgme nt. and whe re it is nOI po55ible 10 fix consecutive dates. to

fi~ da l~ which are as near as possible 10 one allOther. in order to

reach the same conclusion ;

(b) o r if the p:lrtic1 agree (10 a request made by o ne of the

pa rt ies) that aU eVIdence be produ<:ed by means o f affidavits (or

when the Coun is una ble 10 fix a dale for the hcari(ig of evide nce

,·iv/J ,·oce). the Court shall order specific pe riods dUTlng which each

parly is 10 produce all its e vidence by means o f an affidavit and

subsequently. fix the date when the cross e nminalion o f lhe

witnesses who had made an affidavit $hall be heard. if such cross

enmina tion we re 10 be requcsled.

(4) The te rms refe rred in paragraph (3) o f this Rule may be

e~tendcd by Ih e Court for valid and serious reasons which shall be

indi cated in th e o rde r gmnting the exte nsion.

(~)

Whe re a wit nt$$ refw;es 10 o;:o.optrlllle ",i lh any ol ll'lC

pan ies and refuses 10 ma ke an affldavil . $Ud1 party shall file in

applicalion as is referred 10 in sub$ection (I) o f section g of the Judicial

Assislants and Evidence by Affidavi t Act. in sufficic nllime so Ihal such c.p. Y1I.

wilness shall appear a nd give e vidence befor the Judicial Assistant in

accordance with the !aid section 8 .

(6) In the filinl of new suits the p.laintiff. or if more than o n.:.

one of the plaintiffs. and the ddenciaIll. or if !tI()U IILan onc:. one of lhe

de fe ndants. togcthe r with the writ of lillmlllOlI'5 and the "?~ of pleas

a c!t

respectively shall file a declaration eonfirmcd on ?"'th eont~mlllg

ar

and deta ilcdsum:rnent of !he fuo;ts toprovc what IS alleged III the wn t of

summons or the note of pleas. The part)' mal;ing the declaration is 1.0

eon firm that he ill personally aware of the facts stated •• no.! IhlS

dcdanllion shall be the evidence o f thal part)' in the slIil.

U . ( I) TI!e appointment of legal refereel shall be rrstricted to

special and particular· a,., where a rea.] IICQI:$Sity arises because the

ta l1.'Ie req ui rrs specialized I;nowledge in I particular field of law. On any

such appointment the Coun shall indicate dearly and precisely in the

decree the reMOllS and justifiouion for su<;h IlfI l ppointmcnl.

(2) In cases wheft' sum legal rcfereCli arc a ppointed.

evidence shall be produced by means of a liwom st. tcm cntto be made

before the same le,al rdercc and Ihe proviOOIlll of subparag11lph (b) of

paragraph (3) , and of parag11lph (S) of Rule 11 shall apply for the

production of evider>ec before such legal referees . Th e Coun shall in

each c:asc order the legal referee 10 report 10 il on such dates as indicated

by the Coun. so that the Coun shall be in I position to ascen ain th al its

orders have been complied wi th. The roun shall fix I dale for the

definitive filing of the repon .

(3) Where before the coming into fora: of thc!c Rules I legal

referee has already been I ppointed , the provisions of the foregoing

p.lragraph of t his Rule shall be Ippl ied by the Coun with regard to the

evidence of any wit ness who at that lime is still required to be heard. and

a date fixed for the definitive filing of the report .

(1) In-nomina ta' peril; gudizzjarji ghandhB tkun m tTClta

ghal katijie t spetjali u partikolari fe;n tassew ikun mellliea bill i I-kat

ikun jirrikjedi lagl'lri f spetjalizzal fqasam panikolari lal-1iS1. KIIII mefa

ssir IJ(lmina bhal din. iI·OoTli gl'land ha tind ika b'mod tar u preCit fid·

digrict taghha r-ragunijiet u l'guslifi kazzjQni ghal dik in -nomina.

:2) Fil·kat fe;n jin hatru pe ril; lludizzjarji. kull ~i chda

gh.andha Sliir pc nnezz ta' dikja razzjoni guramen lala quddiem I·i stess

perit ~iztjatj u u d·dispOtizz;Oniet tas·subparagrafu (b) tal-pa ragrafu

(3). u tal-paragrafu (5) tar· Regola 1I ghandhom japplik aw bin

jimtemgllu x-xhicda quddiem perit; gudizzjarji. l1-Qorti ghand ha fkull

loa! tordna liII-perit li ji rmpponalha xi jkun gam fdawk id-dati indikati

minnha , sabiex I·istess Oort i tkun fqaghda li tista· tiigura li l-ordnijiet

taghha jtunu twcttqu _ lI-Corti gIlandha tapptm ta wtoll data mela

ghandu jigi ppretenlat iT-rapport finaJi .

(3) Me" jkun dig_ ' inhatar peril gudi7.zja rju fl i kawia qabcl

il-bidu ri$-$C hh ta' dawn ir-Regol ;' id-di5potin;onijiet l;,l-paragrafu la·

qabcl la· din ir·Regola ghandhom jigu appllkali mill-Qorti g)'Iall gbiT

tax-xhieda li jkunu gIlad iridu jinstemg)'lu quddiem il-peril , u tiffiss.a

dall ghall'prdenlata tar-rapport rinali_

Advocates appearing before llfIy of the Superior Courts I t the

h~ariIlf of any cause shall wear I darl; blue. charcoal grey o r black tuit or

pln-1ilnpcd ~rsand bladr. jacket . a white shin wi th I hlack. grey or

white tie or bow·tie and blacl; gown .

Lady advocates shall wear blkl; Or blue o r charcoal grey suits.

or a white blouse and a black sl;in unde r a bhll;1; gown .

A ny advocate not oornplyilll entire ly with these requirements

shall 1101 have the right of audic:nce .

The Rules of Coun made

. 206of

1912 and No. l060f 19)7 and

, 48of 1964and

49 of 1964 aft' hereby

","';: Coon _

the RUles

by

t~

Governmenl Notices No.

No. 381 of 1911 .

No.

I

as may

coming in to

enactment .