https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/16865 2026-08-03T10:55:50Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148233 Title: The Constitution of Malta and rent controls Authors: Xerri, Kurt Abstract: For over fifteen years Malta stood out in Europe as the country most persistently condemned by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for violating landlords' property rights under its rigid rent control regime. Despite repeated judgments, the Maltese Constitutional Court was slow to respond, often weighing broader social considerations, such as the protection of sitting tenants and the State's financial stability, alongside constitutional reasoning, a cautious approach that nevertheless drew criticism from the ECtHR. This book traces how Malta moved gradually and under sustained international pressure from reluctance and delay towards closer compliance with Strasbourg's standards. It examines why the Constitutional Court proceeded cautiously, how this approach nonetheless prolonged injustice and what this experience reveals about the inherent challenges of constitutional interpretation in Malta. Far more than a narrow study of rent control, this work offers a window into the limits of constitutional justice when courts seek to balance legal principle with political and social realities. Finally, it asks whether Malta's constitutional framework as it stands is fit for purpose and whether a stronger culture of rights protection is required. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/104328 Title: Malta Authors: Galea, Patrick J. Abstract: Malta is a Civil Law jurisdiction with extensive Common Law experience and knowledge. This is a direct consequence of its history. Malta’s first contact with Roman Law commenced with the second Punic War. This dominant influence of Roman Law and tradition has continued uninterruptedly to this day, saving perhaps – although this is not entirely clear – the period of Arab dominion. This contact was strengthened by another political event, being the Norman conquest (c 1091), with Malta becoming part of what was known as the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, that is, Southern Italy, just below the Papal States, being what is today the Italian province of Campania and included part of the contemporary province of Lazio, Sicily and the Maltese islands. To this day, Malta’s original medieval archives remain in Palermo. Maltese Notaries were even trained in Sicily. This means that also, from the property law perspective, there was a continued application of Roman Law as the Jus Commune. It included contracts, sales, emphyteusis, exchanges, donations, testaments, fideicommissa and guarantees. This is evidenced by the Codes in force at the time and from random samples of Notarial Deeds examined by the author in the Notarial Archives in Valletta. This continuity is also confirmed in other important historical codes and documents. The Order of St John left four important Collection of Laws/Statutes and Codifications: namely, the first being the Constitutions of Grand Master Jean Paul (de) Lascaris (in office 1636–1657), who promulgated his Prammatiche on 1 March 1640. The next was the Leggi e Costituzioni Prammaticali of Grand Master Gregorio Carafa (in office 1680–1690), enacted in 1681. The third important Collection, also being the first Code that was enacted by Grand Master Antonio Manoel de Vilhena (in office 1722–1736), known as Leggi e Costituzioni prammaticali di Manoel or Il Codice di Fra D. Antonio Manoel de Vilhena dei Conti di Villaflor published in Valletta on the 5 November 1723. The fourth and most important code left by the Order was that legislated by Grand Master Emanuel de Rohan-Polduc (in office 1775–1797) known as Del Diritto Municipale di Malta, often known as the Code de Rohan, promulgated on 23 December 1782, and which completed the work of his predecessors. [Excerpt] 2022-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103801 Title: Re-imagining European private law - a reverie Authors: Galea, Patrick J. Abstract: Casting oneself in the future requires imagination. To address the question, the author found inspiration in the works of the English writer Lewis Carroll ( a pseudonym) about Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and about Alice and her adventure Through the Looking Glass. The reason is that trying to look towards the 2020 scenario is like a journey in Wonderland and in the Looking Glass House. [Excerpt] 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/103800 Title: Editorial : a 'Mixed Jurisdiction' engages with European private law Authors: Galea, Patrick J. Abstract: Malta assumes the Presidency of the European Union on 1st January 2017. This offers an opportunity to reflect on the interaction between the legal system of a small island state and the wider EU jurisdiction. Principally due to the conquests by past masters who left the stamp on their legal system, Malta is a civil law jurisdiction with extensive Common Law knowledge and experience - a member of the European Union, the Euro-zone and the British Commonwealth. Roman Law has been present in Malta since the Punic wars, and remains the substratum of the legal system. The Civil Code was modelled on the Code Napoleon and the traditional private international law of Malta is essentially the British conflict of laws. Other areas follow the English tradition such as company law and maritime Admiralty law and practice. English is an official language in Malta. [Excerpt] 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z