Malta

Abstract

The origins of the Maltese mixed legal system – which result from the interface between the continental legal tradition, which lies at the basis of the Maltese legal tradition, with the English one – cannot be explained as the outcome of a straightforward transfer of sovereignty directly from a continental power to the British Empire. The period which has to be considered most relevant for understanding the origins of British sovereignty runs from the end of French rule to 1815.What cannot be denied is that, after the expulsion of the French as a result of a military alliance between the Maltese insurgents and British military forces, the British exercised de facto political control over the archipelago. Nevertheless, as a matter of strict law, it would seem that formal sovereignty continued to lie with the King of the Two Sicilies, given the British failure to restore the islands to the rule of the Knights as they bound themselves to do by the Treaty of Amiens. During this period Malta was effectively a British protectorate. From the British perspective Malta lost the status of protectorate and became a colony only after October 5, 1813, when Thomas Maitland took up the position of Governor and Commander of the Island of Malta. In 1814, Article VII of the Treaty of Paris recognized this change of status, providing that “the island of Malta with the dependencies thereof will be under the Sovereignty of The King of Great Britain.” From this point onward, the British started to administer Malta as if it had been conquered. [excerpt]