What are Small Claims? When to apply? Maltese Law classifies as small claims money claims of an amount not exceeding five thousand euros (€5,000). Any such claims are heard and determined by the Small Claims Tribunal. Causes involving questions of ownership of immovable property or rights annexed thereto, even if the claim does not exceed €5,000, as well as causes of ejectment and eviction from immovable property are not considered as small claims.
Legislations, Your Rights and RegulationsThe Small Claims Tribunal is presided by an adjudicator who decides cases on principles of equity according to law. Adjudicators are appointed from amongst advocates for a term of five years. The Small Claims Tribunal is regulated by the
Small Claims Tribunal Act.
How to start a small claims procedureProcedures before the Small Claims Tribunal are initiated by the filing of a Notice of Claim in the Registry of the Civil Court. The filing of the Notice of Claim may be made either physically at the Registry or by electronic means i.e. online. Any supporting documents can also be filed with the claim.
The Notice of Claim - Reply form is used by a party who is served with a notice of claim filed against him in the Small Claims Tribunal and wants to respond to the claim. This reply has to be submitted within 18 days from the date when such party was served with the notice of claim. If the party so notified wants to make a counterclaim against the party who made the claim, then s/he is to use this same form and fill in the part entitled 'Response with Counterclaim'. Any supporting documents can also be filed with the reply.
The Notice of Claim - Counterclaim Reply form is used by the party who brought a claim before the Small Claims Tribunal to reply to a counterclaim made by the party against whom s/he filed his/her claim. Any supporting documents can also be filed with the counterclaim reply.
Each online application related to Small Claims, take approximately fifteen (15) minutes to be filled in. During the filling in, the application can be saved as draft at any point in time. On submission, an acknowledgement of the application is generated, following which the details submitted in the application will be vetted and then registered by the Deputy Registrar within one (1) working day. The application is then assigned to the Adjudicator within one (1) working day following its registration. Once the application is submitted, the applicant can also track and follow the case through ecourts.gov.mt.
Viewing information on Small Claims CasesSearch Judgements is one of the services that falls under the eGovernment initiative. It is offered by the Court Services Agency so that more people will benefit from the use of information technology and communication services. This service brings together a collection of judgements given by the Courts of Justice of Malta from 1944 onwards. The researcher, in this collection, will find judgements of a certain interest and importance delivered by the Courts of Justice of Malta and Gozo.
This service is a very useful electronic research tool, thought to satisfy the requirements of Judiciaries, Lawyers, Notaries, Legal Procurators, Courts' Personnel, Law Students, Journalists and last but not least the Public in General. The service is free of charge, has unlimited use and presents no fees whatsoever to download copies of the judgements full text documents. Click link to access Search Judgements.
Search Judgements offers 4 services:
- Judgements in the past 15 days
- Judgements in the past 12 Months
- Judgements between a specified date
- Search By Keywords (such as reference, court, judiciary, parties / litigants, European Case Law Identifier, amongst others)
Apart from final judgements, the Search Judgements system displays also partial judgements (i.e. sentenzi in parte) and other information related to the case. One may also search for European Small Claims' judgments.
Any party may log in with one's e-ID to 'My Cases' which is accessible through the following website https://ecourts.gov.mt/onlineservices/ to view his or her case which is pending before the Small Claims Tribunal. Once this Tribunal delivers judgement, the party may also have access and read the judgement through 'My Cases'.
Appealing a Small Claims Courts Decision
An appeal shall lie from a decision of the Small Claims Tribunal to the Court of Appeal composed of one judge i.e. the Court of Appeal in its Inferior Jurisdiction.
How to appeal against a Small Claims Courts Decision
Any party to a cause before the Small Claims Tribunal who does not agree with the Tribunal's decision may appeal therefrom by an application filed in the Court of Appeal within twenty (20) days from the date of the Tribunal's decision. The appeal must be signed by an advocate and it may be filed by an advocate, legal procurator or the appealing party. Any supporting documents can also be filed with the appeal.
The appeal may also be submitted online here by the lawyer or the legal procurator. The application form takes approximately fifteen (15) minutes to be filled in. On submission of the appeal, an acknowledgement of the application is generated, following which the details submitted in the application will be vetted and then registered by the Deputy Registrar within one (1) working day. The appeal is then assigned to the Judge within one (1) working day following its registration. Once the appeal is submitted, the applicant can also track and follow the case through ecourts.gov.mt.
european small claims procedure
Council Regulation 861/2007 of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure seeks to improve and simplify procedures in civil and commercial matters where the value of a claim does not exceed €5,000.
The Small claims procedure operates on the basis of standard forms. It is a written procedure unless an oral hearing is considered necessary by the tribunal. The Regulation also establishes time limits for the parties and for the tribunal in order to speed up litigation.
The Maltese tribunal accepts the application form in English and Maltese, by registered post, fax or electronically. You can complete these forms online here.
Information and the judgements of the European Small Claims Procedure are also included in the Search Judgements website.
The right of appeal for a European Small Claim Procedure falls under national law, thus under the Small Claims Tribunal Act. For more information on how to appeal, refer to the section "How to Appeal against a Small Claims Tribunal's Decision".
PAYMENT DUE TO REGISTRATION IN SMALL CLAIMS TRIBUNAL OR EUROPEAN SMALL CLAIMS PROCEDURE
The notice of claim's fee is € 40.00.
The reply's fee is € 25.00.
The counterclaim's fee is € 40.00.
The fee for replying a counterclaim is € 25.00.
The appeal's fee is € 80.00.
The fee for replying the appeal is € 50.00.
In addition to the abovementioned fees, there is a fee of € 7.20 for each service of notification/s issued on the parties.
PERSONAL DATA
All documents filed at the Small Claims Tribunal and the Court of Appeal are available to the public domain. However, any person has the right to the Data Protection Officer on dpo.csa@courtservices.mt if s/he feels that there was breach of personal data:
Data Controller
The Chief Executive Officer of the Court Services Agency may be contacted at:
Court Services Agency, Republic Street, Valletta
Telephone: 25902217
Should you disagree with the decision of the DPO or the Data Controller you may file an appeal with the Information and Data Protection Commissioner
The Information and Data Protection Commissioner may be contacted at:
Level 2, Airways House,
High Street,
Sliema SLM 1549
Telephone: 23287100
Email: idpc.info@idpc.org.mt
Support, Help and Giving Feedback
Customer satisfaction is key to quality and performance and so your feedback is highly encouraged to act on the suggestions received. Whether you are a Maltese or a non-Maltese National and would like any further assistance, provide feedback, submit a complaint, or give your opinion on the services related to Small Claims, you may get in touch by using the contact details provided on the right side of this page or click here.
Alternatively, you may also click here to request further information or click here to submit your complaint.
