The

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

incorporates

continental law Civil law is a legal system originating in mainland Europe and adopted in much of the world. The civil law system is intellectualized within the framework of Roman law, and with core principles codified into a referable system, which serves as t ...

common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

and local traditions, such as Code de Rohan. A municipal code was enacted in 1784 and replaced in 1813. Maltese law has evolved over the centuries and reflected the rule of the context of the time. At present Malta has a mixed-system codification, influenced by

Roman law Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (c. 449 BC), to the '' Corpus Juris Civilis'' (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Ju ...

French law The Law of France refers to the legal system in the French Republic, which is a civil law legal system primarily based on legal codes and statutes, with case law also playing an important role. The most influential of the French legal codes is t ...

- Napoleonic Code,

British law The United Kingdom has four legal systems, each of which derives from a particular geographical area for a variety of historical reasons: English and Welsh law, Scots law, Northern Ireland law, and, since 2007, purely Welsh law (as a result of ...

Common Law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipres ...

, European Union law,

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

, and customary law established through local customs

Constitution

The constitution of 1964 replaced that of 1961.

Legislation

The legislature is the

Parliament of Malta The Parliament of Malta ( mt, Il-Parlament ta' Malta) is the constitutional legislative body in Malta, located in Valletta. The parliament is unicameral, with a democratically elected House of Representatives and the President of Malta. By const ...

. Legislation includes codes and

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament be ...

. Legislation once included the bando and prammatica (or pragmatic).

Cases and reports

Collections of law reports include: *Repertorio de Decisioni. This volume of reports covers the period from 1713 to 1838.Maxwell. A Complete List of British & Colonial Law Reports and Legal Periodicals. Sweet & Maxwell. London. Carswell Company. Toronto. 1913
p 66
*Collezione di decisioni dei tribunali.Sherman. Roman Law in the Modern World. 1922. vol 3
p 37
These four volumes of reports cover the period from 1839 to 1842. *Decisione scelte della corti superiori. This volume of reports covers the period from 1847 to 1849. *Collezione di decisioni dei tribunali superiori. These reports cover a period that begins in 1854.

Courts and judiciary

There are Superior Courts, including the Court of Appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeal and the Constitutional Court. There was a Supreme Council of Justice. There is a Chief Justice of Malta.

Legal practitioners

Practitioners include legal procurators and advocates.

Criminal law

Legislation has included the Criminal Code of 1854Winterton and Moys (eds)
p 310
(c 9), the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1963, the Criminal Code (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1963, the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1966 (No 43), the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1967 (No 2), the Criminal Code (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1967 (No 25), the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1972 (No 33), the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1973 (No 2), the Criminal Code (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1973 (No 3), the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1974 (No 4), and the Criminal Code (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1974 (No 8).

References

Bibliography

*David Joseph Attard. The Maltese Legal System. Second Edition. Malta University Press. 2013.

*Mark A Sammut. The Law in All Its Majesty: Essays in Maltese Legal History and Comparative Law. Russell Square Publishing Limited. 2016.

*Hugh W Harding. Maltese Legal History under British rule (1801-1836). Printed at Progress Press. Valletta, Malta. 1968
WorldCat
Reprinted by Malta University Press. 1980
WorldCat
*Proclamation No 1 of the 10th March 1854, promulgating Her Majesty's Order in Council giving effect to a Code of Laws and Regulations of Police for the Island of Malta and its Dependencies
Google Books
*F Cremona. The Law on Commercial Partnerships in Malta. University of Malta. 1989

*Andrew Muscat. Principles of Maltese Company Law. Malta University Press. 2007
WorldCat
*Max Ganado, Ganado & Associates Advocates and the Institute of Financial Services Malta. An introduction to Maltese Financial Services Law. Allied Publications. Valletta, Malta. 2009
WorldCat
*Simone Borg and Louise Spiteri. Environmental Law in Malta. Kluwer Law International. 2010
Google Books
*Kevin Aquilina. Media Law in Malta. Kluwer Law International. 2014.

External links

Guide to Law Online - Malta
from the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. {{Law in Europe Law of Malta