HOW TO SERVE LEGAL PAPERS IN MALTA

This article will provide guidance on how to serve legal papers in Malta. A legal notice is sent to the other party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body in order to exercise jurisdiction over that person in order to allow that person to reply to a proceeding before a court, body, or other tribunals. Malta Process Service is the act of presenting a collection of court papers to the individual who has to be served with notice. Click Here for Frequently Asked Questions About Process Servers!

International Process Service

According to the Hague Service Convention, which was established by member nations of the Hague Conference on Private International Law on November 15, 1965, in The Hague, Netherlands, Malta Process Service is for civil and commercial cases. It was created in order to provide litigants with a reliable and efficient method of serving papers on parties that reside, operate, or are situated outside of the nation in question. Malta Process Service in civil and commercial cases is covered by the agreement, but not in criminal cases. If the person to be served does not have a known address, the Convention does not apply. Click here for information on How Rush Process Service Can Expedite Your Case.

Malta Process Service mandates that the documents must be written in English or Maltese in accordance with Article 5(3) of the Convention

HOW DOES THE HAGUE SERVICE CONVENTION WORK

The Hague Service Convention established a more simpliﬁed means for parties to affect Malta Process Service in other contracting states. Under the convention, each contracting state is required to designate a central authority to accept incoming requests for Malta Process Service. A judicial ofﬁcer who is competent to serve the process in the state of origin is permitted to send a request for Malta Process Service directly to the central authority of the state where the Malta Process Service is to be made. Upon receiving the request, the central authority in the receiving state arranges for service in a manner permitted within the receiving state, typically through a local court. Once the service is effected, the central authority sends a certiﬁcate of Malta Process Service to the judicial ofﬁcer who made the request. Click here for information on How Service of Process Ensures A Solid Foundation.

Serving Malta Process Service in Malta is subject to the criticisms of the Hague Service Convention, regardless of which U.S. venue is hearing the matter. Malta is a relatively new member of both the European Union and the Hague Service Convention– and the Malta Process Service of documents is fairly straightforward. Click here for information on How Process Servers Protect Your Rights: Myths Debunked

English is one of Malta’s official languages. However, it is important to make sure the defendant speaks English because their U.S. Due Process rights follow them. Anybody sued in a U.S. court must be served in a language they understand, so if they do not speak English, translation is still necessary.

It is also important to fill out a USM-94 form to completion and make sure that it is signed by a court official or an attorney. If it is not, one must make sure that the person signing is commissioned by the court. Malta has not indicated whether Article 10 methods are available or not.

how to serve legal papers DOMESTICly IN MALTA

Malta Process Service is the act of handing out court papers to a legal or physical body, such as a corporation or individual. The Code of Organization and Civil Procedure governs the manner in which service is provided (Chapter 12 of the Laws of Malta).

In order to guarantee that all parties involved in a legal matter get all relevant papers, certain requirements were placed into national legislation addressing the delivery of documents. Furthermore, these Malta Process Service requirements ensure that papers have been delivered to the intended recipient, for the advantage of the court.

It is mandatory to serve all court papers in a formal manner. Among them are judicial letters, judicial protests, petitions, writs of summons, appeals, answers, preventive and executive warrants, and orders delivered by the Courts, Judges, and Magistrates, amongst many more.

WHO serves legal papers IN MALTA?

When a document is filed with the court, it is the court’s job to distribute copies of Malta Process Service. Claims must be filed in court with the name and address of the person to whom the document should be served, as well as the date of service. It is the responsibility of the person submitting the document to make sure that there are enough copies for everyone who will be receiving it.

The requesting authority in this Member State does not attempt to locate the addressee of the documents to be served if the addressee no longer resides at the address known to the requesting authority.

Unless the Maltese receiving authority receives an identification card number from the recipient, the Maltese authority validates the address supplied if the service fails. Attempts to create a secondary residence may be made provided the transmitting agency gives the unique identifying number for each physical person. This authority validates the registration address of firms using an online system run by the Malta Financial Services Authority’s Registry of Companies (MFSA). An additional service attempt will be made at the registered address if the address given by the transmitting authority varies from the one selected.

For those cases where a court marshal reports that they were unable to locate their intended recipient or that no one was present at the given address, a request is made of the appropriate authority to notify the person (whether legal or physical) at the same location, but outside of normal business hours, in order to obtain permission to do so. The Malta Process Service is sometimes a success.

When the Central Authority asks for a witness’s address, the reason for the request must be disclosed. This information is not required to be provided by the Central Authority, however.

how to serve legal papers BY MAIL IN MALTA

In the absence of a court case, legal papers such as judicial protests are sent by registered mail, which includes a ‘pink card’ indicating the recipient’s signature or the fact that the document is unclaimed. The ‘pink card’ would be affixed to the original document in this scenario (for instance with the official letter).

Court marshals serve documents that are filed for the purpose of instituting legal proceedings or are filed in the course of a court case by delivering them to the addressee, at the address indicated by the party filing the document, or by leaving such copy at their place of work or at their residence, or with some person in their service or their attorney or person authorized to receive mail. Anyone under the age of fourteen, as well as anyone suffering from a mental illness or other condition that leaves them unable to vouch for their Malta Process Service, cannot have papers left with them.

It is possible to serve judicial or extrajudicial papers using electronic methods (e.g. e-mail, internet-based secure application), such as fax or SMS, in civil procedures. In civil cases, the electronic delivery of documents is not permitted. Documents to be served in the islands of Malta and Gozo and Comino must be served by attaching a judicial letter to the document and filing it in the Registry of the Civil Court’s First Hall or the Registry of the Court of Magistrates’ (Gozo) under its superior jurisdiction. The Court Marshal will deliver these papers to the individual to whom they are directed, together with the judicial letter. Article 187 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure outlines the procedure for serving documents.

When the recipient of the document accepts Malta Process Service, the document is regarded to have been served. Upon a request from the interested party and following a hearing with the executive officer of the courts and taking into account all the circumstances of the incident, the court may issue a decree declaring service to have been completed on the date and time that the refusal was made and this decree shall be considered.

A person who willfully fails to comply with any court order or warrant or refuses to execute any warrant or order by a court marshal will be found in contempt of court and will be subject to a fine or expulsion from the court, as well as reprimand or expulsion from the court (ammenda or multa).In order to receive mail from the Maltese postal service, a person must be of sound mind and not a child at the address. Signing is required upon delivery.

Even if the addressee is not home, a notification is placed at the door to let them know someone has tried to deliver the letter and to let them know that it will be available for pickup at their local Post Office when they get back. Depending on the postal service provider’s opinion, if the mail item is still uncollected, a final notification is posted to the recipient. Typically, this is done after five days for local registered mail and ten days for international registered mail. If the mail is still unclaimed after these intervals, it is returned to the sender, marked as ‘unclaimed,’ and can only be collected from the Post Office by the addressee or an authorized representative upon presentation of the notice and an identification document (passport or identification card) of the addressee.

Any written documentation that the document has been sent is available to the client. There is a certificate of service or non-service. A ‘pink card’ will be added to the original papers that are sent through registered mail. As soon as the original papers are returned to the Court, they are stamped in either black or red ink. It is customary to use black ink to show that a document has been served, as well as to identify who received it. No service was made, hence a red stamp with the words ‘for lack of service’ would indicate that.

Depending on whether Malta Process Service is positive or negative, the court marshal stamps and signs documents that have been served, and these documents include the signature of the court marshal who was responsible for carrying out the service.

Malta Process Service is full and legal even if the addressee does not get the papers, as long as a copy is left at the addressee’s place of business or residence. If a service is provided in contravention of the law, a lawsuit might be filed to set such service aside. If the party to be served files a response in court or appears in court in response to a legitimate service, the service is deemed valid.

DOMESTIC COVERAGE AREAS:

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE AREAS:

OFFICE LOCATIONS

New York: (212) 203-8001 – 590 Madison Avenue, 21st Floor, New York, New York 10022
Brooklyn: (347) 983-5436 – 300 Cadman Plaza West, 12th Floor, Brooklyn, New York 11201
Queens: (646) 357-3005 – 118-35 Queens Blvd, Suite 400, Forest Hills, New York 11375
Long Island: (516) 208-4577 – 626 RXR Plaza, 6th Floor, Uniondale, New York 11556
Westchester: (914) 414-0877 – 50 Main Street, 10th Floor, White Plains, New York 10606
Connecticut: (203) 489-2940 – 500 West Putnam Avenue, Suite 400, Greenwich, Connecticut 06830
New Jersey: (201) 630-0114 – 101 Hudson Street, 21 Floor, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302
Washington DC: (202) 655-4450 – 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 300, Washington DC 20004

FOR ASSISTANCE SERVING LEGAL PAPERS IN MALTA

Simply pick up the phone and call Toll-Free (800) 774-6922 or click the service you want to purchase. Our dedicated team of professionals is ready to assist you. We can handle all your Malta process service needs; no job is too small or too large! For instructions on How To Serve Legal Papers in Malta, Click Here!

Contact us for more information about our process-serving agency. We are ready to provide service of process to all our clients globally from our offices in New York, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington, D.C.

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Sources

1. In Chapter 443 of the Maltese Constitution, Article 7 states:

The central authority shall serve the document by attaching the document to a judicial letter filed in the Registry of the Civil Court, First Hall, to be served on the person addressed together with such document, and such judicial letter and accompanying documents shall be served in accordance with the methods prescribed in (a) article 187(1), (2), (4) or (7) o o the Hague Convention of 1965, as applicable.

Provided that, as the central authority may think suitable to specify in each situation, the proviso to said article 187(8) shall not apply.

2. A person’s actual address may only be established by the receiving authority if the transmitting agency supplies a unique identification number for the recipient. The general public and foreign governments cannot access this database. On the other hand, the Registry of Companies under the Malta Financial Services Authority offers a free online system enabling anybody to verify the correctness of a company’s name, registration number, and registered office. Directors’ identities and legal representatives and the company secretary may all be found on the same website; however, a user account is required and the information can only be seen for free.

A request submitted under Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001 of May 28th of 2001 on cooperation between courts of Member States in the collecting of evidence in civil or commercial actions aiming at identifying a person’s present address is handled by the authorities in this Member State.

3. To be served on a body with its own legal personality, leave a copy of the pleading at the following locations: [A.] its registered office, principal office, place of business, postal address, etc. [B.] at any other location where the body has an agent acting on its behalf; and [C.] at any other location where that body has an agent acting on its behalf.

4. Anyone detected at the premises of an address and accepting mail is presumed to have permission from the addressee to do so. If one is not authorized, don’t take the mail, and if they do, they are responsible for delivering it to the intended recipient. . Regulation 33 of the Postal Services (General) Regulations 2005 mandates this method.

5. A note is left at the address in question if no one is present to answer the phone and receive the mail in the event of a signature-required delivery. It would be possible to collect mail from a local post office at any time. The postal service provider has the final say on whether or not further delivery efforts will be undertaken. If the letter is not picked up, it is returned to the sender with the designation ‘unclaimed.’ The message is returned to the sender immediately if the recipient or his representative rejects it.

6. Through Legal Notice 148 of 2014, the receiving agency in Malta has set a fixed fee under Article 11 of Regulation 1393/2007 of €50 for each and every document to be served in Malta. This fee must be paid prior service. Payment of fees shall be made by bank transfer payable to the Office of the Attorney General, at the following bank account details:

Bank Name: Central Bank of Malta

A/c name: The Office of the State Advocate – Service of documents/Legal fees

A/c number: 40127EUR-CMG5-000-Y

IBAN: MT24MALT011000040127EURCMG5000Y

Swift Code: MALTMTMT