https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143834 Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:52:40 GMT 2026-09-08T03:52:40Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148962 Title: Environmental salvage : need for legislative reform? Abstract: This dissertation examines whether the current international law of salvage provides adequate incentives for salvors to protect the marine environment or whether legislative reform is required. Traditionally, salvage law developed to encourage the voluntary rescue of maritime property through the principle of “no cure, no pay”, under which remuneration depends on the successful preservation of ships, cargo or freight. Within this framework, environmental considerations historically carried no independent legal significance. The emergence of large-scale maritime pollution incidents and the increasing carriage of hazardous substances altered the nature of maritime casualties, highlighting the need to recognise environmental protection within salvage operations. The International Convention on Salvage 1989 introduced environmental considerations through Articles 13 and 14, allowing environmental efforts to influence salvage rewards and providing special compensation where environmental damage is threatened despite insufficient salved value. Despite these developments, the dissertation demonstrates that environmental salvage remains conceptually constrained within a framework primarily designed to reward the preservation of property. Judicial interpretation of Article 14 and the continued reliance on property-based valuation limit the effectiveness of environmental incentives. Contractual innovations such as Lloyd’s Open Form and the SCOPIC clause have partially addressed these limitations in practice, yet they operate within the existing legal structure rather than fundamentally altering it. The analysis further shows that other areas of maritime law have increasingly prioritised environmental protection through strict liability regimes, compulsory insurance mechanisms and enhanced regulatory intervention. The dissertation concludes that while the international community was justified in adopting a cautious approach in 1989, the contemporary maritime landscape requires greater doctrinal coherence between environmental objectives and salvage incentives. Rather than a complete restructuring of salvage law, a measured refinement of the existing framework may be necessary to ensure that environmental intervention is adequately recognised within modern maritime governance. Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148962 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148961 Title: To what extent does the markets in crypto-assets (MiCA) regulation strike an effective balance between promoting financial innovation and ensuring retail holder protection in the EU crypto-asset market? Abstract: This dissertation examines whether the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Regulation strikes an effective balance between promoting financial innovation and ensuring retail holder protection in the European Union crypto-asset market. The emergence of crypto-assets has created significant opportunities for innovation in digital finance, while also exposing retail holders to risks such as market abuse, information asymmetry, operational failure and instability. In response, the European Union adopted MiCA as the first comprehensive and harmonised regulatory framework specifically governing crypto-assets across the internal market. The dissertation adopts a doctrinal, black-leIer legal methodology, based primarily on the analysis of MiCA’s legislative provisions, related regulatory materials and academic commentary. Limited comparative reference is made to the United States in order to contextualise the European Union’s regulatory approach and highlight the significance of MiCA’s ex ante framework. The study finds that MiCA makes an important contribution to legal certainty, market harmonisation and retail holder protection. In particular, it introduces significant protective mechanisms, including crypto-asset white paper requirements, obligations for crypto-asset service providers, market abuse provisions and stricter safeguards for stablecoins. These measures strengthen transparency, support market integrity and create a more predictable legal environment for market participants. However, the dissertation also finds that MiCA imposes substantial regulatory burdens which may constrain innovation, particularly for smaller firms and emerging market actors. Its overall effectiveness is further limited by enforcement challenges, gaps in scope, and the difficulty of regulating rapidly evolving technologies, especially in areas such as decentralised finance. It is concluded that MiCA strikes an effective balance only to a considerable, but not complete, extent. While the Regulation clearly prioritises stability and retail holder protection, it also supports innovation by providing the legal certainty necessary for sustainable market development. Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148961 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148960 Title: A study of the effectiveness of the condominium act amid its proposed revision Abstract: This study examines the current legal framework governing condominia in Malta, with a particular focus on the existing Condominium Act and the proposals set out in the 2023 White Paper. It provides a critical analysis of both instruments assessing their effectiveness in addressing the evolving needs of modern condominium living. The study further undertakes a comparative evaluation of selected EU jurisdictions in order to identify best practices and potential models for such reform. The research highlights fundamental shortcomings within the current legal framework, notably, the absence of enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance and insufficient protections for unit-owners, tenants and condominium administrators. Findings indicate that the existing law is ill-suited to regulate contemporary developments particularly multi-use complexes, which include residential units, commercial units, and units used for tourism purposes. Additionally, the study identifies the regulatory gap concerning government-owned condominia, underscoring the need for a coherent legal framework to govern such developments. This dissertation highlights that legislative reform is both necessary and urgent. Whilst the 2023 White Paper reflects a degree of legislative awareness regarding prominent issues, its failure to be enacted represented a missed opportunity for reform. The current legal regime remains inadequate in addressing the growing prevalence and complexities of condominium living. Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148960 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148959 Title: An analysis of the relationship between the CJEU and the ECTHR : convergence and divergence in fundamental human rights protection Abstract: This dissertation examines the jurisprudential relationship between the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the field of fundamental rights protection. It seeks to determine whether this relationship is characterised primarily by convergence, divergence, or a combination of both. Adopting a qualitative doctrinal methodology, the study examines leading case law from both courts, focusing on decisions that directly engage with the interaction between the EU legal order and the system of the ECHR. The analysis demonstrates that meaningful convergence exists at the level of substantive rights protection and judicial reasoning. The presumption of equivalent protection established in Bosphorus reflects structured judicial trust, while the shared reliance on proportionality and the interpretative link between the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Convention reinforce alignment in rights adjudication. However, divergence emerges at the institutional level. In Opinion 2/13, the CJEU reaffirmed the autonomy and constitutional integrity of EU law, setting clear limits on external judicial oversight. Subsequent Strasbourg jurisprudence confirms that deference to the EU legal order remains conditional and cannot displace the Convention’s supervisory function. The renewed request for an opinion from the CJEU concerning the revised DraX Agreement on EU accession to the Convention demonstrates that these constitutional questions remain present. While substantive alignment between the two courts is evident, institutional considerations continue to shape the limits of integration. The dissertation concludes that the relationship between the CJEU and the ECtHR is best understood as one of substantive convergence constrained by structural divergence within a plural European legal order. Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148959 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z