Malta Maritime Law Association
MMLA President Dr. Matthew Attard addressed the audience of the Malta Maritime Summit. Dr. Attard focused on the importance of dialogue between stakeholders and the government and need for the European Union to regulate shipping related matters in a more sensible manner and by placing the growth of the EU flag on top of its agenda.
Malta Maritime Law Association President Dr. Matthew Attard attended the 2nd signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships which took place at Verdala Castle in Malta on 19th June. The signing ceremony was held at the magnificent Verdala Palace in Malta under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Malta H.E. Myriam Spiteri Debono.
The signing ceremony was officiated by Mr. David Nanopoulos, Chief of treaty office of legal affairs United Nations (standing behind Min Ian Borg on picture). He was joined by H.E. Myriam Spiteri Debono, President of Malta; Hon. Ian Borg, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta; Mr José Angelo Estrella Faria, Principal Legal Officer and Head of the Legislative Branch, International Trade Law Division, United Nations Office of Legal Affairs; Dr. Ann Fenech, President of the Comité Maritime International; Hon. Chris Bonett, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure, and Public Works of Malta; Mr. Richard Sonnenschein, Director for Justice Policies, DG Justice and Consumers, European Commission; Dr. Dorota Lost-Sieminska, Director, Legal Affairs and External Relations Division, International Maritime Organization; and Hon. Jonathan Attard, Minister for Justice and Reform of the Construction Sector of Malta.
The Convention was signed by Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Malta, and Spain thus raising the number of signatories to 26.
from left to right: Dr Matthew Attard (MMLA President), Mr Godwin Xerri (MMF Chairman) , Dr Claudia Vella Casagrande (MISA), Hon. Dr Chris Bonett (Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Public Works), Dr Ann Fenech (CMI President), Capt David Bugeja (Chief Officer at TM), Mr Godwin Mifsud (Permanent Secretary at MTIP), Mr Peter Buhagiar (Registrar of Ships MSD TM)
The Malta Maritime Law Association was pleased to attend the conference organised by the IMO IMLI as part of the Institute’s 35th anniversary celebrations. The conference entitled “Promoting the Implementation of IMO Objectives through Maritime Legislation”, held in Valletta on 17th June, welcomed distinguished panelists discussing important topics such as marine environment, safety and security maritime issues, decarbonisation and the implementation on international instruments.
The Malta Maritime Law Association would like to thank the IMO IMLI and Prof. Norman Martinez for inviting our Members to attend the Conference and looks forward to collaborating further with the Institute.
The MMLA Education Committee is excited to announce that it will be hosting a Case Law Update Seminar, scheduled to take place on or around 25 June 2024 between 4 pm-6.30 pm, to be followed by drinks.
During this seminar, three recent local cases which are of relevance to Malta’s legal development/ maritime industry will be tackled by means of case studies. The suggested formats are as follows:
Format A:
Each case will be tackled individually by a rotating panel of lawyers who acted for the parties in these cases. The case is to be assessed from the position of plaintiff and defendant with the final decision (if any) and its implications on the industry discussed by the said panel.
and/or
Format B:
A case study is presented by an individual lawyer. This format should also discuss the position of the plaintiff, that of the defendant and the final decision (if any) together with its implications on the industry.
Each case study should not take longer than 40 minutes, with a further 10 minutes put aside for questions after each panel/ presentation.
In the spirit of academic discussion, should you have an interesting case that you would like to put forward, we would encourage you to liaise with your counterparty lawyer/s so as to organise a lively debate on the subject matter.
In this regard, we are calling on lawyers who would be interested in contributing to the event to register their interest by sending an email to Dr Martina Farrugia (martina.farrugia@fenechlaw.com) by 15th May 2024, forwarding a brief summary of the case to be discussed and detailing why this is of relevance.
We look forward to hearing from you and with your help, putting together an interesting and educational seminar.
Dr Matthew Attard in his capacity as President of the Malta Maritime Law Association was invited to participate at the Quaynote held on 14th March 2024. The synergy between entities and the role of digitalization were at the centre of the panel discussion entitled ‘Doing Business in Malta’, which highlighted the advantages of doing business in Malta within the competitive Superyacht scene and delved into the challenges and current projects that will enhance the success of this thriving industry.
The panel was moderated by Ms Annalise Zammit, MBR’s COO and Deputy Registrar. Further to Dr Attard, Dr Geraldine Spiteri Lucas, MBR’s CEO and Registrar, Mr Michael Mifsud, CEO of Yachting Malta, Mr Mark Savona, Registrar of Ships’ Assistant Registrar, Dr Ingrid Fenech, Official Receiver and MBR’s Head of Insolvency and Receivership Service, Dr Marthese Portelli CEO of the The Malta Chamber participated in the discussion.