https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143834 Sat, 24 Oct 2026 13:42:58 GMT 2026-10-24T13:42:58Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150301 Title: Court delays in criminal proceedings : a violation of the fundamental rights of the accused and the victim Abstract: ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’. The maxim is recited so often in courtrooms that it risks becoming furniture, yet it states, with complete accuracy, the stakes of this dissertation. There are few words more scathing uttered from the lips of lawyers than ‘unfair proceedings’, as a cornerstone of the rule of law, the right to a fair trial is widely recognised as a foundational execution of justice. Courts therefore, are entrusted with the abstruse task of striking a balance between the effective administration of justice and the protection of the rights of the accused and the victim. From the moment a criminal charge is issued, the accused lives under its strenuous weight, his liberty, property, reputation, and peace of mind all struck by the trajectory of proceedings. And the victim of the offence waits, with no less anxiety, for the court to finalise proceedings. A judgement issued too late fails both parties. However, what remedies are provided by our courts once a violation of a person’s right to a fair trial is found? This dissertation examines how the right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time established both by legislation and jurisprudence is defined, applied, and remedied in practice. Moreover, before meaningful solutions can be proposed, it is necessary to examine the root causes of judicial delay. What factors contribute to the persistent backlog of criminal proceedings, and why do such delays continue to characterise the administration of justice? More importantly, does every delay amount to a violation of the accused's fundamental right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time, or are there circumstances in which delays are both justified and necessary to ensure the proper administration of justice? Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150301 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150102 Title: Examination of Roman law classifications of 'diligentia' in Maltese law Abstract: This monograph examines the connection of Maltese Civil Law and Roman Law on the subject of Diligence. By establishing an unbroken legal link between the Code De Rohan and the current Civil Code, as it was never abrogated by French invaders, something known and carefully drafted the Civil Code with that in mind by Sir Adriano Dingli, the provisions which directs the courts to solve any Lacuna in Civil Law through the continental tradition of the Leggi Communi, as well as giving them the power to give Praetorian remedies, remain in force. In Part I, the various degrees of Diligence in Roman Law are categorized into three main branches of Dolo, Culpa and Dolo, and Special Diligence, based on Ulpianus’ categorisation in the Digest, each degree examined, as a means to understand the concept of the Bonus Pater Familias and the variants derived from it. In Part II, the articles that compose the framework of diligence in the Maltese Civil Code are examined, examining the evolution of the ‘Roman’ Bonus Pater Familias to the ‘Continental’ Good Father of the Family, specifically in the context of the Maltese Civil Code, as well as the application of the former’s variants in select nominate contracts. The position is put forward that it is erroneous to conflate the Reasonable Man standard, with the Bonus Pater Familias, being of a completely different autochthone character that derives from the high standard it originally held in Roman Law, with elements that come from the development of the Leggi Communi. Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/150102 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149751 Title: Paying due regard : balancing fisheries conservation and international development Abstract: This dissertation examines the historical trajectory of the relationship between fisheries and international development in the fisheries-related resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly from 1992 to 2025. It starts from the observation that international fisheries governance repeatedly recognises the special requirements of developing States, while the meaning of those requirements remains dispersed across treaty law, soft law, UNGA resolutions, FAO instruments, WTO rules and RFMO practice. The dissertation applies the Sociology of Knowledge Approach to Discourse (SKAD) to reconstruct how development is made meaningful, which actors are classified as requiring differentiated treatment, and which solutions become institutionally legitimate. The UNGA fisheries resolutions form the longitudinal coded corpus. Annex 3 situates Development within the wider fisheries discourse, while Annex 4 reconstructs the internal hierarchy of development-related code groups. Annexes 6 and 7 connect this hierarchy to related legal instruments and selected RFMO provisions, including WCPFC, IOTC and ICCAT materials. The analysis shows that development is stable and prominent in the UNGA corpus, but that its meanings are not equally weighted. The strongest development code groups are Technical and Scientific Capacity and Institutional and Regulatory Capacity. Development is therefore most consistently translated into data production, scientific research, stock assessment, monitoring, control and surveillance, compliance, port State implementation, RFMO participation, technology transfer and capacity-building. Social and distributive meanings, including food security, small-scale fisheries, gender, Indigenous Peoples, vulnerability, market access, productive sovereignty and disproportionate burden, become increasingly visible, especially in the later period. However, they are often incorporated through an implementation-centred structure. The dissertation argues that due regard and the special requirements of developing States have acquired clearer institutional form where they align with the functional needs of the fisheries regime, but remain less settled where they require allocation, burden-sharing, correction of historical advantage or stronger recognition of community authority. Description: M.A. Ocean Gov.(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149751 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149684 Title: The administration of ecclesiastical property : between legal certainty and administrative efficiency Abstract: This dissertation examines the legal and administrative structures regulating ecclesiastical property in Malta, with particular focus on the 1991 Agreement concluded between the Holy See and the Government of Malta, as well as its implementation through Chapter 358 of the Laws of Malta. It assesses whether this framework successfully succeeds in reconciling administrative efficiency with the demands of legal certainty and the protection of proprietary rights. Adopting a primarily doctrinal legal methodology, complemented by a contextual analysis, this study explores the canonical foundations of ecclesiastical property, the operational framework of the Agreement and the role of administrative bodies such as the Joint Office. Through an examination of relevant case law, this study identifies key legal challenges arising in practice, including uncertainty of title, the misclassification of property and the limited protection afforded to third-party rights. The findings demonstrate that while Chapter 358 establishes an effective administrative mechanism for the large-scale transfer and registration of ecclesiastical property, it frequently prioritises administrative efficiency over substantive legal certainty. Moreover, it is concluded that a more balanced approach is required, one which better aligns administrative processes with the fundamental principles of property law to ensure both efficiency and the effective protection of proprietary rights. Description: LL.B.(Hons)(Melit.) Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/149684 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z