Small claims adjudication : an alternative mode of dispute resolution

Abstract

A complaint often aired about litigation in Malta, is that cases involving small contested amounts prolong out of proportion, both to the importance of the issues and to the amounts involved. It is after all ridiculous to have a case involving a hundred Maltese Liri take over a year to be concluded. Ideally such a case should not take more than one to two sittings to be decided. Unfortunately reality dictates otherwise, and small claims can take years to be disposed of under the existing procedure. The blame for this state of affairs should not be laid exclusively upon the present system of court procedure. A multitude of factors have through the years contributed negatively to the present quandary. _ Until a few years ago, the situation if anything was even worse. Then all claims exceeding fifty Maltese Liri fell within the competence of the Superior Courts. The result was that these claims were dealt with under a procedure ill-suited to dispose expeditiously of such petty litigation. This unsalutary situation was somewhat rectified following an increase in the civil competence of the Inferior Courts. The competence of the Inferior Court was increased to include claims of up to two hundred and fifty Maltese Liri. This measure had two positive results, first it alleviated the existing backlog of pending litigation before the Superior Courts, and second the more expeditious procedure which characterizes contested cases before the Inferior Courts was now applicable to a wider section of litigation.