CIVIL COURTS (ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTIONS) ORDER

CIVIL COURTS

(ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTIONS)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 12.19

CIVIL COURTS (ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTIONS)

ORDER

16th December, 2003

LEGAL NOTICE 396 of 2003, as amended by Legal Notice 8 of 2004 ,

Act I of 2018 and XVI of 2019, V of 2021, XXIII of 2022 and XVII of 2023.

The title of this Order is the Civil Courts (Establishment of

Sections) Order.

There shall be five sections in the Civil Court to which shall

be assigned, as provided by this Order, the category of cases, hitherto

falling within the jurisdiction of the Civil Court (First Hall) and the

Civil Court (Second Hall), or as may be assigned to the Civil Court by

any law.

The sections of the Civil Court shall be the Family Section,

the Voluntary Jurisdiction Section, the Commercial Section, the Asset

Recovery Section and a general jurisdiction to be styled the First Hall

of the Civil Court.

To the Civil Court (Family Section) shall be assigned those

cases falling within the competence of the Civil Court and which

relate to matters regulated by

(a) Titles I, II and IV of Book First the Civil Code;

(b) the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement)

Ordinance;

(c) the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement)

Act;

(d) the Marriage Act; and

(e) the Child Abduction and Child Custody Act.

To the Civil Court (Voluntary Jurisdiction Section) shall be

assigned applications falling within the Competence of the Civil

Court and which relate to matters regulated by

(a) Titles III, V, VI and VII of Book First of the Civil

Code; and

(b) Part II of Book Second of the Code of Organization

and Civil Procedure.

CIVIL COURTS

(ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTIONS)

To the Civil Court (Commercial Section) shall be assigned

applications falling within the competence of the Civil Court and

which relate to matters regulated by the Third Part of the Commercial

Code and any regulations made thereunder, by the Companies Act, by

the Pre-Insolvency Act the Competition Act and any regulations made

thereunder, by the Consumer Affairs Act and any regulations made

thereunder, and by the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs

Authority Act, and by the Representative Actions (Consumers) Act.

To the Civil Court (Asset Recovery Section) there shall be

assigned applications relating to matters concerning the recovery of

proceeds of crime and to non-conviction based confiscation of

property by the State or by an entity of the State as may be provided by

any law from time to time in force and all other causes expressly

assigned by law to the said section of the Civil Court.

To the First Hall of the Civil Court shall be assigned all cases

within the competence of the Civil Court and not assigned to the

Family Section or the Voluntary Jurisdiction Section or the

Commercial Section.

Subject to any rules of court or to any regulation, cases

shall be assigned to the different sections of the Civil Court by the

Registrar in accordance with the category to which the case refers.

Where any dispute arises as to whether a case should be

assigned to one section or another of the Civil Court, or where a

case involves more than one category falling to be assigned to

different sections of the Civil Court, the matter shall be referred to

the Chief Justice who shall, in camera, determine the section to

which the case shall be assigned. The determination by the Chief

Justice shall be registered in the records of the case and shall be

final.

Without prejudice to the provisions of article 54 of the

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure there shall be in the

Court of Magistrates (Gozo), in its Superior Jurisdiction, two

Sections to be styled respectively ''The Family Section'' and ''The

General Jurisdiction Section''. To the Family Section shall be

assigned cases falling within the competence of that Court in its

Superior Jurisdiction and which are regulated by the provisions

referred to in article 4(a) to (e) of this Order, and to the General

Jurisdiction Sections shall be assigned cases falling within the

competence of the said Court in its Superior Jurisdiction which are

not assigned to the Family Section or to which the said article 54 of

the said Code does not apply. Articles 7 and 9 of this Order shall

mutatis mutandis apply with respect to cases falling within the

competence of the said Court in its Superior Jurisdiction with

regard to the assignment of cases to the various Sections.

CIVIL COURTS

(ESTABLISHMENT OF SECTIONS)