The transposition and implementation of EU directives in the Maltese legal order

Abstract

The transposition and implementation of EU directives is deemed to be a popular topic in the realm of EU law with ample of published material penned by various authors. Such a statement unfortunately cannot be said to extend to the local scenario with practically no available material dealing with this subject from a local perspective. It is precisely this that this thesis promises to deliver – a comprehensive assessment of Malta’s modus operandi in dealing with EU legislation, particularly EU directives. Through this assessment which is performed in parallel with the examination of the EU’s entire legislative process, the reader is set to be informed of all the ‘behind the scenes’ work of practically each and every national institution or structure involved in the mentioned process, with the exception of the judiciary which its assessment is not the scope of this study. The target audience of this thesis can be said to have an extensive catchment - in the sense that it can be scrutinised by practitioners in the field as well as read by any person who is interested to discover or desires to expand his knowledge on the subject from a local perspective. The following introduction gives a synopsis of how such an assessment is carried out. The outcome of the findings will be accompanied with the author’s own concluding remarks mainly revolving around Malta’s achievements or the lack of them during its first decade as a full EU member vis-a-vis its obligations to fully transpose and implement directives into its legal order.