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MMLA President at UNCITRAL Working Group VI first meeting held in New York on the International Recognition of Judicial Sales

May 31, 2019 Leave a Comment

Between the 13^th and 17^th of May 2019, President of the MMLA, Dr Ann Fenech was at the first meeting of UNCITRAL Working Group VI which has been tasked with considering the draft convention presented by CMI on the International Recognition of Judicial Sale of Ships.

Dr. Fenech participated in this meeting at UNCITRAL in her capacity of Vice President of CMI and as CMI co-ordinator for the project at UNICTRAL.

This was the first meeting of the Working Group VI attended by States members of UNICTRAL during which Dr. Beata Czerwenka was appointed Chairman of Working Group VI.

During this first meeting lasting an entire week, the Swiss Delegate Prof. Alex von Zeigler, a member of the Executive Council of CMI, presented the project since it was on the proposal of Switzerland last July 2018 that the 51 Assembly of UNICTRAL accepted to take on this work as part of its programme.

As CMI co-ordinator for the project Dr. Fenech was tasked with giving a preliminary explanation of each proposed article to the convention. There was agreement on the usefulness of the CMI draft to be used as the basis for any future work. The entire week was taken up with the explanations and answering of questions raised by all the delegations present. It was concluded at this first meeting that the UNCITRAL secretariat will now work on another draft taking into account the various ideas expressed and that the next draft will be the subject matter of the next Working Group VI meeting in Vienna in November of this year.

Dr Ann Fenech elected CMI Vice President

December 5, 2018 2 Comments

The Malta Maritime Law Association is delighted to announce that Dr Ann Fenech, President of the Malta Maritime Law Association and Managing Partner of Fenech & Fenech Advocates was last Friday (9 November 2018) elected Vice President of the Comité Maritime International (CMI) by the General Assembly of the CMI at the IMO in London.

The CMI is an international body established in Antwerp in 1891 with the aim of unifying International Maritime Law. It has been responsible of drafting some of the most important international maritime conventions including the Arrest Conventions of 1952 and 1999, the Collision Regulations and the Salvage Convention.

Dr Fenech was suggested for nomination for this position by Ireland and Sweden. She was voted in by the members of CMI who are the national maritime law associations of 51 different countries. She is the first Maltese to be elected to the position of Vice President within the CMI.

The CMI is currently working on a number of important projects including Automation and the International Recognition of Judicial Sales. Dr Fenech was heavily involved in recent efforts in persuading UNCITRAL (the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law) to accept the proposal of the Government of Switzerland to commence work on an International Convention on the International Recognition of Judicial Sales. UNICITRAL has in fact added this project to its working agenda.

Dr Fenech’s election as Vice President of the CMI is considered as a very valuable addition to the profile of Maritime Malta world wide. It will mean that Maritime Malta will also be represented at the highest levels of international maritime law. Ann Fenech has been practicing maritime law exclusively since 1986.

MMLA President Ann Fenech appointed Honorary Member of the Croatian Maritime Law Association

November 2, 2018 Leave a Comment

Dr. Ann Fenech, President of our association was appointed Honorary Member of the Croatian Maritime Law Association, during the 2^nd International Scientific Conference on Maritime Law held in Split on the 28^th of September.

Dr. Fenech had been invited to the Conference to deliver a Key Note address on “The International Recognition of Judicial Sales – the way forward.”

She was awarded the Honorary Membership by the President of the Croatian Maritime Law Association, Gordon Stankovic who stated that this honour was being conferred on Dr. Fenech for the work that she has embarked on over the past few years as an Executive Council Member of the CMI. Other recipients of this award include Giorgio Berlingieri, Patrick Griggs and Prof. Rhidian Thomas.

MMLA President at UNCITRAL in New York

July 5, 2018 Leave a Comment

The President of the Malta Maritime Law Association (MMLA), Ann Fenech together with the President of Comité Maritime International (CMI) Stuart Hetherington represented CMI at the 51^st session of UNCITRAL in New York on 29^th June 2018. Also present was another CMI Executive Council member, Professor Alex von Zeigler who was the Swiss delegate representing Switzerland. Up for discussion was the Swiss Proposal to UNCITRAL suggesting that UNCITRAL should work on cross border issues related to judicial sales.

In February the MMLA together with CMI and the Ministry for Transport organized an international Colloquium on a Draft International Instrument on Foreign Judicial Sales of Ships and their Recognition, a convention drafted by the CMI, where international experts discussed the importance of having an international convention to deal with the issues of recognition of judicial sales of ships. Present for the Colloquium were representatives of the entire maritime and trading industry including ship owners, charterers, financiers, suppliers of provisions and bunkers, flag registries and representatives from BIMCO, FONASBA, the ITF as well as legal practitioners and maritime service providers from around the world. The conclusions of the Malta Colloquium formed the basis of a report attached to the Swiss Proposal requesting UNCITRAL to take on the work.

The CMI are delighted to report that notwithstanding a number of other proposals put to UNCITRAL for future work, the Swiss proposal for work on recognition of judicial sales was one of two proposals accepted by UNCITRAL. UNCITRAL therefore mandated one of its working groups to take on this project. It is expected that work on this will commence as soon as one of the working groups finishes its current assignment.

MMLA President invited by the Spanish Maritime Law Association

June 18, 2018 Leave a Comment

The President of the Malta Maritime Law Association, Ann Fenech was invited by the Spanish Maritime Law Association to give a presentation on Judicial Sales and the CMI draft convention on the international recognition of judicial sales at a congress in Madrid held on the 14^th and 15^th June.

Dr. Fenech discussed the processes leading to judicial sales, the problems when there is a failure by states to recognise such judicial sales and the importance for states to support the proposal for a discussion on cross border recognition of Judicial Sales at UNCTIRAL on the 29^th June in New York.

The President of the CMI Mr. Stuart Hetherington and Ann Fenech will together be representing the Comite Maritime International at the 51^st Meeting of UNCITRAL in June.

Member of the Comité Maritime International

MMLA President at UNCITRAL Working Group VI first meeting held in New York on the International Recognition of Judicial Sales

Dr Ann Fenech elected CMI Vice President

MMLA President Ann Fenech appointed Honorary Member of the Croatian Maritime Law Association

MMLA President at UNCITRAL in New York

MMLA President invited by the Spanish Maritime Law Association

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