https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/1126 Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:50:26 GMT 2026-07-23T05:50:26Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148142 Title: Lowering human rights and equality protection Abstract: Human rights protection in Malta is primarily protected by the courts of constitutional jurisdiction, both under the Constitution of Malta and the European Convention Act, the latter enactment incorporating into Maltese Law the Council of Europe’s European Convention on Human Rights. Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148142 2026-07-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147977 Title: Regulating AI-powered robotic systems in the EU Authors: Sant, Mireille M. Abstract: This chapter examines the evolving regulation of AI-powered robotic systems within the European Union, focusing on the interplay between technological capability and legal frameworks. It addresses four guiding questions: What constitutes a robotic system? Why is regulation necessary? How are such systems currently regulated? And how should future regulation be approached? [excerpt] Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147977 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146794 Title: The Maltese language at risk Abstract: Professor Raymond Mangion’s monograph titled The Legislative and Constitutional Development of the Maltese language in a Historico- Literary Context published last year by Midsea Books is a first of its kind. I am not aware of any book that has ever been hitherto published which introspects the Maltese language from such diverse aspects as the legal, legislative, constitutional, historical, and literary perspectives. In this book, we encounter the chequered history of the Maltese language that has developed progressively, though painfully, over the centuries until it reached its fulfilment when Malta achieved its independence from the UK. The Maltese language has traversed multiple stages since its inceptions centuries ago, not only those of customary law and statutory law, but it was only as recent as 22 September 1964 that it anchored itself for the first time in Malta’s fundamental law – the Constitution of Malta. Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146794 2026-05-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146612 Title: Postcolonial law : autochthonous illusions, or rupturing the shackles of British acculturation? Authors: Aquilina, Kevin Abstract: This paper restricts its focus on Malta’s postcolonialism in relation to one sector of society – public law – and argues that since the inception of British colonialism in Malta in 1800, following Malta’s independence in 1964, and up to the present moment in time, British acculturation has taken its toll in this sector of Maltese society to such an extent that such sector in the republican state is very much of a mirror image of the colonial imprint. After defining key terms such as “colonialism”, “post-colonialism”, “postcolonialism” and “British acculturation” for the purposes of this paper, a distinction is drawn between British postcolonialism, on the one hand, and other forms of post-colonialism extant in Malta, on the other, leading to the finding that although Malta is both post-colonial and postcolonial in nature, it is the latter that has gained the upper hand both during Malta’s British colonial times and following Malta’s independence mainly because Britain was Malta’s last coloniser and applied a policy of acculturation in Malta at least in the sector of society surveyed that has, during the colonial and postcolonial periods ranging from 1800 to date, nearly eradicated from Malta the remnants of European continental public law. The work then identifies the advantages and disadvantages of postcolonialism in Malta, the rejection of recourse to the option of autochthony that was available to the Maltese nation post-independence but never availed of, and the meaning of, and ingredients for, autochthony should the Mediterranean state chose in the future to cross this bridge. It further attempts to understand why the Mediterranean state has, instead of pursuing the autochthony road, had recourse to a servile colonial mentality post-independence that did not detach it completely from the former coloniser’s pubic law. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146612 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z