Justice Minister Carm Mifsud Bonnici has said statistics showed that arbitration centres had proved to be a success, so much so that the need was felt to create a new, efficient system within which decisions were taken.
Introducing a Bill amending legislation relating to arbitration and mediation, the minister said traffic cases wherein the claim did not go above €11,600 were adjudicated by the arbitration centre. The last six years saw 19,090 new cases.
An increase in voluntary arbitration in the past six years was also registered and this doubled from the previous year, especially in traffic and condominium cases.
The arbitration centre handled 14 international cases.
He said 82 per cent of arbitration cases were decided and this confirmed that the waiting time was reduced. Half of last year's cases were decided by the end of the same year.
The centre managed to make quantum leaps in Malta's legal system and increased possibilities for a better use of the system. At the same time, arbitration increased the volume of legal work. The new measures were propellant towards increasing the use of arbitration proceedings.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that conflict and lack of dialogue between parties were resulting in complications and delayed decisions.
The four legal developments that the government had brought about, including the executive letter, mandatory arbitration, Small Claims Tribunal and mediation created a different legal climate without reducing the number of cases in court.
Between January and March last year, there were 1,136 new cases or appeals. This year the number was 1,323 (a 14 per cent increase); of these 1,310 of which were decided.
He said the message transmitted was that cases were being closed faster and more efficiently. Success was registered particularly in litigation cases below the €23,000-mark and traffic accidents. For this reason, he added, one needed to continually move forward to ensure more practicality and dignity in the courts.
Thanks to these measures, he said, an administrative tribunal began functioning at the beginning of last year. Further improvements were being made this year to ensure that pending cases are determined without delay. This was a step forward towards a better justice system of Malta.
The process of developing a better justice system had started in 2004 when legal developments addressed the challenge to strengthen the Small Claims Tribunal, the introduction of faster legal mechanisms through the official executive letter, further mechanisms in arbitration and the introduction of a mediation centre.
These, he said, were the four main necessary amendments to bring justice forward in Malta. Dr Mifsud Bonnici went on to say that mediation and conciliation were used to resolve commercial disputes and this procedure was used in civil law.
Turning to the Small Claims Tribunal, statistics showed that in 2004, there was an increase in new cases. Of the 2,500 new cases, 2,180 cases remained pending, some for three years or more. Measures needed to be taken for cases under €3,500 to bring them to a close. Amendments allowed this tribunal to provide justice faster.
Another amendment referred to the executive letter, introduced in 2005, based on the bill of exchange and executive title system. This allowed for small cases to be decided faster (for amounts of €10,000 or less).
This also allowed the tribunal to reduce the time within which a case was determined from three to one year. Of the 19,161 cases introduced, 18,441 were decided and only 1,100 cases were pending.
In 2005, there were 1,487 executive letters. In 2009, the number increased to 3,427. Since inception five years ago, 14,710 such letters had been presented. This system benefited particularly the smooth running and profit of small businesses.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said what was introduced in 2004 served its purpose. Statistics showed that the steps taken vis-à-vis the Small Claims Tribunal, the Arbitration Centre, the Mediation Centre and the creation of the Administrative Tribunal were successful. However, it did not mean that one had reached a state of perfection.
The Bill under discussion contained two main amendments.
The first related to the set up of the Centre of Arbitration and this after the Constitutional Court ruled a number of provisions from the arbitration law as unconstitutional.
However, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said, one should not lose sight of the benefits of the Arbitration Centre that had determined a number of disputes. The idea was to utilise the Centre of Alternative Dispute Resolution Forum, where arbitrators decided disputes in a shorter timeframe.
He said that the first seven articles related to points that were identified in the judgments of the Constitutional court.
The second part of the Bill was concerned with mediation. Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that this possibility was not widely used. It provides that a case set for mediation is to be appointed for hearing within two months. He said the instrument of mediation was not being used enough and this could be because of a lack of information.
The Bill aimed to bring the domestic legislation in line with the EU Directive. This would incorporate an important amendment that will give the agreement reached by the parties in mediation a binding effect. Consequently, the court would then review the agreement reached and adopt it as its own.
Dr Mifsud Bonnici said the Bill provided for the introduction of international mediation of commercial and civil matters. He said such measures would be giving more weight to mediation, leading to a wider use. There were several cases before the courts that could be solved with mediation, which might be a better solution for all parties.
Concluding, Dr Mifsud Bonnici said that during the past six years, the government had taken several measures to make the courts work better.