PROCEEDINGS IN THE LAND ARBITRATION BOARD RULES

PROCEEDINGS IN THE LAND ARBITRATION BOARD

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 88.01

PROCEEDINGS IN THE LAND ARBITRATION

BOARD RULES

12th December, 1935

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 495 of 1935, as amended by Legal Notices 161

of 1975, 140 and 199 of 2000, and 408 of 2007; and Act XIII of 2015.

The title of these Rules is Proceedings in the Land

Arbitration Board Rules.

(1) The sittings of the Board shall be held at such time and

place as the Chairman may direct.

(2) Notice of the time and place fixed for the hearing shall be

served on the parties to the proceedings by the Registrar in

accordance with Form No.12 annexed to the Code of Organization

and Civil Procedure.

For the purposes of article 23(2) of the Land Acquisition

(Public Procedures) Ordinance, hereinafter referred to as "the

Ordinance", the Chairman shall at the opening of the proceedings,

ask each of the other members of the Board whether there exists in

respect of him any of the causes of abstention specified in article

734 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure.

All acts in connection with any proceedings before the

Board shall be filed in the Registry of the Superior Courts and shall

bear as a heading an indication of the Land Arbitration Board and

shall be inserted in the record of the proceedings to which they

refer

Provided that schedules of deposit whereby any sum of

money is deposited in court in connection with any proceedings or

in execution of any decision of the Board shall be filed and bound

separately, but a note of such deposit shall be made in the record of

proceedings.

The act whereby the owner replies to the "request for

information as to the land" to the "notice to treat" and any act filed

in reply to any application shall be styled "ir-risposta".

A copy of every act and of every exhibit filed by any one

party in connection with any proceedings before the Board shall be

served on the other party or parties to the proceedings unless such

service is dispensed with by such other party or parties by means of

a declaration to this effect made on the act and/or exhibit by the

party to be served therewith.

As soon as practicable after any application commencing

proceedings before the Board is filed, the Chairman shall, prior to

any further proceedings, give such orders or directions as may be

necessary to complete the composition of the Board.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE LAND ARBITRATION BOARD

The appointment by the Chairman of a member of the

Board to represent the owner or owners in the circumstances

referred to in article 23(1) of the Ordinance, shall not be deemed to

be an appointment of a referee for the purposes of the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure.

The plan referred to in article 29(3) of the Ordinance shall

be filed in duplicate.

Where the Board orders the owner or owners to pay the

costs of the competent authority, such costs shall be deducted from

the compensation payable, if any, or shall be recoverable from the

owner or owners by the executive procedure in the manner laid

down in the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure.

(1) The registry fees established in the Tariff annexed to

these rules shall be paid together with the filing of the relative act

of procedure.

(2) Fees due to the advocate and legal procurator shall be taxed

in accordance with the Tariff of Fees annexed to the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure.

In addition to the provisions of the Ordinance and of these

Rules, the provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil

Procedure shall apply to the filing and service of acts, to the

hearing of applications and to all other proceedings, both written

and oral, before the Board.

TARIFF

Registry fees payable in the Land Arbitration Board

1 For the filing of any claim ..........................................

€40.00

2 For the filing of any reply ...........................................

€25.00

3 For the filing of any application of appeal ..................

€80.00

4 For the filing of an answer to an application of appeal

€50.00

5 The fees established in paragraphs 1 to 4 of this Tariff

shall include the filing of all other acts of procedure

and services (including but not limited to the filing of

warrants for the examination of witnesses, the

examination itself, recording fees, transcriptions and

copies, the services of judicial assistants, decrees and

declarations prior to definitive judgement, taxed bill

of costs and copies of the judgement) required

following the initiation of the cause through the said

act up to and including final judgement but excluding

any fees due for notification of the acts of procedure

or any fees due to referees or experts appointed by the

Board or any fees which the Board may be required to

pay to third parties.

6 (1) No fee shall be levied for the filing of any note

of admission of a claim provided that the claim is

admitted in full and unconditionally before any

contestation thereon.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE LAND ARBITRATION BOARD

(2) Any counter-claim contained in any act of

procedure shall be treated as if it is a new claim and

the fees set out in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be levied on

the counter claim and the reply thereto.

(3) The fees stated in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall also be

due on the filing of any application to the Board to be

permitted to file any statement of defence, answer or

other act of procedure filed in reply to a claim and

intended to contest, whether totally or partially, a

claim made.

7 (1) For every notification of an act of procedure,

including expenses incurred in the execution of such

notification, the following fees shall be due

(i)

registry fee .............................................

(ii) fee due to the executive officer effecting

the service ..............................................

Provided that if service is to be effected outside

normal working hours, the fees contained in this

paragraph shall be increased by 100%.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in this

Tariff if the service of any act is to be executed

personally by an executive officer of the Board, in

cases where the law permits that service be effected

otherwise, the following additional fees shall be due,

for each notification

(i)

registry fee ..............................................

(ii) fee due to the executive officer effecting

the service .............................................

(3) The fees established in sub-paragraph (2) shall

not apply when service is to be effected personally by

an executive officer of the Board in terms of any law,

and in such cases the fees established in sub-

paragraph (1) of this paragraph shall apply.

8 For any other act of procedure indicated in the Land

Acquisition (Public Purposes) Ordinance but for

which no fee is established in this Tariff ....................

Provided that fees for services not specifically

provided for in this Tariff but provided for in other

Tariffs contained in the Code of Organization and

Civil Procedure shall be taxed according to those

Tariffs.

9 For the opening of the registry outside working

hours

(i)

registry fee .............................................. €120.00

(ii) fee due to attending deputy registrar .......

(iii) fee due to each executive officer

required to effect service ........................

PROCEEDINGS IN THE LAND ARBITRATION BOARD

10 (1) The Board may, when delivering judgement,

order that the plaintiff or defendant in a cause pay

increased costs to the Registrar of Courts of not less

than €232.94 and not more than €582.34 if the Board

deems that the act of procedure initiating the claim or

the act of procedure in reply was frivolous or

vexatious or that either of the parties has

unnecessarily prolonged the proceedings and in such

case such sum will not be recoverable from the other

party.

No appeal shall lie from the decision of the Board.

(2) The Board may, when delivering judgement,

also refer to the Commission for the Administration

of Justice the advocate of the plaintiff or of the

defendant if the Board deems that the advocate is

responsible, wholly or partly, for the frivolous or

vexatious act of procedure or for prolonging the

proceedings.

No appeal shall lie from the decision of the Board.

11 (1) All fees due shall be paid together with the filing

of the relative act and the Registrar shall not accept

f o r f i l i ng a n y a c t of p r o c e du r e , w h i c h is n o t

accompanied by the relative fee.

(2) The assessment of the Registrar on the amount

of fees to be paid shall be final.

(3) In assessing the fees laid down in this Tariff no

account shall be taken of any fraction of €2.33.

12 (1) The Registrar shall cause a taxed bill of costs to

be kept in the file of each cause and shall

immediately enter therein all payments made to him

and all payments due to the advocates and legal

procurators of the parties and the parties and their

advocates and legal procurators shall have the right to

a copy thereof at any time.

(2) Within one month of the delivery of the

definitive judgement, the Registrar shall cause a final

taxed bill of costs to be drawn up.