Agricultural law in Malta

Abstract

The Maltese group of Islands consists of Malta and Gozo and the two small islets of Comino and Cominotto which are situated in the channel between the two main islands. The archipelago is in the central channel which connects the Eastern and Western basin of the Mediterranean Sea; the distance from Sicily is 80 Km., from Tunisia 320 Km., and from Tripoli 320 Km. The chain of islands stretches 29 miles from North West to South East. Malta is nearly four times the size of Gozo and the total area of the group is 114 square miles (306 square Kilometers). Agriculture is the chief industry of the islands though at first light it would appear that there is no extensive cultivation owing to considerable tracts of fertile soil being concealed in the valleys or hidden behind the numerous and high stone walls which serve as boundaries and provide shelter for the crops from strong winds; the needs are small and for the most part composed of terraces by which the soil has been walled up along the contours of hill's with enormous labour to save it from being washed away. The area under cultivation is 43,000 acres; the area under irrigation comprises but 4% of the area farmed; water is the prime necessity of the farmers and considerable works are being undertaken to extend the provision of water which would naturally increase production. Before the British domination Malta was governed by the Civil Law (Diritto Comune) with the usual additions of usages and of Municipal Laws the latest compilations of which was framed under Grand Master De Rohan and is known after him as "Codice di Rohan" (1784). Towards the second half of the last century the codification of the Maltese Laws was stated by means of Separate Ordinances and those which related to property were consolidated by Ordinance VII of 1868. In the Revised Edition of the Laws of Malta in force on December 31, 1942, the Civil Code, including the Law of Persons occupies Chapter 23 of the Edition. Ordinance VII of 1868 closely followed the pattern of the Great French Codification and the various amendments most of then of slight importance, made since the year 1868, incorporated in the Revised Edition, have not weakened to any appreciable degree the unalloyed individualism sanctioned by the Code Civil. Agricultural legislation proper began making its appearance only after the Department of Agriculture was formed in 1919-1920, and the principal enactment which governs leases of rural tenements is the result of the War Emergency and will expire when the emergency is proclaimed ended. In this article we propose to give a broad outline of Maltese Law affecting land ownership and tenure and while dealing more diffusely with typical Maltese institutions which have practically disappeared from other legislations.