Breach of contract: A business litigation overview

Lawyer Malta

In the business scenario, daily we enter into contracts and agreements. This leads to unavoidable breaches to which disputes arise. As much as contracts should be written to provide remedies this is not always the case and not all disputes can be easily resolved.

Business disputes can span across all industries and involve different types of legal contractual and commercial transactions of a non-criminal nature. Examples of breach of contracts can happen in trading agreements, maintenance agreements, reseller contracts, manufacturing agreements, financing agreements, commercial contracts and so on. 

Generally, there are two ways of how a situation can be settled. The first way is a settlement between the parties involved outside of court, this is referred to as arbitration. Chapter 387 of the Laws of Malta focuses on the Artbitration Act that encourages and facilitates the settlement of disputes through arbitration in Malta. This Act specifies instances where arbitration is mandatory such as in cases related to condominium disputes, motor traffic disputes that are not in connection with a claim for damages for personal injuries, and other so on. Handling a case outside of court generally indicates that the duration of the case will be shorter, making the process less time consuming and more cost effective.

The second way is when one of the parties takes matters to a court of law to settle, referred to as litigation. This will allow a judge to decide how the case should be resolved. Disputes that are settled through litigation can include commercial disputes, claims against the State and personal injury claims, amongst others.

For more information, please see our dedicated webpage here: https://sciberras.legal/practice-areas/litigation-arbitration/. Our legal team can assist you with any advice on arbitration or litigation matters for your case. 

This article is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. 

Article written by Ms Charlene Sciberras, B.A. (Hons), guest writer, a marketing and business administration specialist with a special focus on corporate, accounting, and legal matters.

Sciberras Advocates founded by Dr Adrian Sciberras, is a law firm based in Malta. The firm prides itself to be multi-disciplinary, innovative and flexible in order to meet the changing times and any challenges in the local and international legal scenario. No matter what private or corporate complex demands are called for, Sciberras Advocates offers practical and cost-effective legal solutions to achieve your desired results. You may reach Sciberras Advocates by phone on +35627795222 or via email on [email protected].

The legal framework regulating the responsible use of Cannabis

Cannabis law Malta

Following an expression of the public interest for the use of Cannabis to be permitted in Malta, the current Government has moved forward with legalising, in a regulated manner, such use. Indeed, on the basis of the White Paper, introduced on the 30th of March 2021, an entire new legal reform has been introduced and put into effect as of the 14th of December 2021.

This legal reform speaks of associations which are essentially ‘non-profit organisations’ having as their aim the cultivation of cannabis to be dispersed among its members. Notably, legal persons and legal entities are prohibited from forming part of the organisation, be it as members, owners or leaders.

These organisations must be registered with, and permitted by, an Authority regulating the responsible use of cannabis – established by the same legal reform. They are to provide the authority with an activity report, as well as a report indicating its member count (keeping anonymity), with a three-month interval. This authority will regulate such organisations with respect to how much cannabis can be cultivated, the location in which it can be dried and the particulars relating to its transportation. Indeed, this Authority will oversee the quantity and quality which the organisations may distribute.

The association must not exceed five hundred members, and no one may be member to more than one organisation of this nature. Prohibited from forming part of these organisations are persons who have not attained the age of eighteen. Such persons may not be in the presence of any premises operated by such an organisation.

The regulations of concerning distribution entail that such organisation is limited to issuing a maximum of seven grams per member-per day, as long as the total of grams issued does not exceed fifty grams per-member per-month. More so, such organisation may distribute a maximum of twenty cannabis seeds per-member per-month. Essential to note is that at no point may the organisation have in its fund or possession more than five hundred grams of dried cannabis.

With regard to the premises in which the organisation operates, it must be of a distance which is not less than two-hundred-fifty meters from any school, club or youth centre. There must be no indication by any means (such as signs) to the organisation’s nature. The organisation must ensure that such premises do not cause any harassment to the locality in which it is situated, including loitering.

You can read more about this in our dedicated webpage: https://sciberras.legal/practice-areas/cannabis-law/. If interested in establishing such an organisation contact us at Sciberras Advocates for legal guidance and expertise.

This article is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.

Article written by Ms Chantal Borg, currently reading a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) at University of Malta.

Sciberras Advocates founded by Dr Adrian Sciberras, is a law firm based in Malta. The firm prides itself to be multi-disciplinary, innovative and flexible in order to meet the changing times and any challenges in the local and international legal scenario. No matter what private or corporate complex demands are called for, Sciberras Advocates offers practical and cost-effective legal solutions to achieve your desired results. You may reach Sciberras Advocates by phone on +35627795222 or via email on [email protected].

Welcome to the Sciberras Advocates blog

Sciberras Advocates

Welcome to our new blog. Moving on we are looking forward to bringing you news and information on anything legal in Malta. Through our blog posts we will be exploring various informative topics to give you, our readers, valuable legal information that could be useful to you.

Our firm, Sciberras Advocates, founded by Dr Adrian Sciberras, FCCA, MIA, CPA, LL.B. (Hons) (Melit.), M. Adv (Melit.), is a law firm based in Birkirkara, Malta. The firm prides itself to be multi-disciplinary, innovative and flexible in order to meet the changing times and any challenges in the local and international law scene. 

Our boutique legal practice is composed of an experienced team of lawyers coming from different business backgrounds who is ready to listen. We are dedicated to our work and bring you our experience and expertise. We understand that everyone at some point needs legal advice whether on a personal basis or on more complex business scenarios. At Sciberras Advocates this is possible since the team not only specialises in law, but also holds business, corporate and accounting background experiences. This is vital to understand any complex commercial scenarios you might need to solve.  

We are here to deliver excellent client service through our capabilities, whilst always holding on to our values of clarity, integrity, accountability and excellence.

Should you wish to contact us please feel free to email on [email protected].

Article written by Ms Charlene Sciberras, B.A. (Hons), guest writer, a marketing and business administration specialist with a special focus on corporate, accounting, and legal matters.

Sciberras Advocates founded by Dr Adrian Sciberras, is a law firm based in Malta. The firm prides itself to be multi-disciplinary, innovative and flexible in order to meet the changing times and any challenges in the local and international legal scenario. No matter what private or corporate complex demands are called for, Sciberras Advocates offers practical and cost-effective legal solutions to achieve your desired results. You may reach Sciberras Advocates by phone on +35627795222 or via email on [email protected]