Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements : a Maltese perspective

Abstract

'Malta, the smallest Member State of the European Union is today a positive and reliable member... ...from a relatively isolated nation on the fringes of Europe to a front runner of European Integration.' Clearly, as in most other areas of Maltese civil and commercial law, and perhaps more so, the private international law, aspects of jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgements have been greatly affected by Malta's European Union membership in May 2004. Each state has the right to regulate its own public order; however instances may occur when actions extend over national boundaries, and in so far principles of international law play their part in regulating the application of the appropriate law, establishing jurisdiction and the interface with enforcing national laws and judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters. The conviction lies that, "...differences between national laws on jurisdiction recognition of judgements and differing procedural formalities impede the judicial co-operation within the internal market". This thesis attempts to draw a clear picture of the European status quo of jurisdiction, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements within the Union Member States, but seeks to go further, in analysing the Union's attempts to further "...break down barriers in order to strengthen direct judicial cooperation, in the area of judicial powers as well as in recognition of rulings made on both civil and commercial matters". In this regard this thesis attempts to identify issues and areas which bear room for improvement and in so doing humbly draw proposals which would tentatively bring to an area of further legislative harmonisation promoting the free circulation of judgements between states, which is visibly the strategic endeavour of the European Union of tomorrow. "The fewer the hurdles there are in place when it comes to recognising and carrying out court decisions passed by one Member State in another, the greater the cost savings... ...this is the goal we should be aiming for." While every subject tackled by this thesis could potentially by itself constitute a thesis in its own right, my intention has been to indulge into a comparative study of what I believe to be the relevant aspects, from a local and a foreign perspective, bearing in mind the limited nature of the space at my disposition to meet the need of this thesis.