A legal notice allowing domestic courts to freeze a debtor’s bank account held in another EU country has entered into force with immediate effect.

By virtue of this legal notice, Malta, as an EU state, is honouring its obligations to implement European Union regulations.

“It is our duty to keep strengthening and facilitating our judicial processes for the benefit of citizens,” Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said.

He said this process would facilitate debt recovery in civil and commercial matters in the European Union making the creditor safer.

The regulation establishes a European procedure allowing a creditor in cross-border cases to obtain a European Account Preservation Order, which may be of a precautionary or executive nature, to preclude the transferring or withdrawing of funds held in the debtor’s bank account in any member state.

This process protects the creditor by ensuring the prevention of transfers or withdrawals of funds by the debtor, which could potentially jeopardise any legal remedy that the creditor may seek to utilise against the same debtor.

This legal notice contains measures to ensure the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments between member states, effective access to justice, and the elimination of obstacles to the proper functioning of civil proceedings. In this way, the compatibility of the rules on civil procedure applicable in the member states will be promoted.

Another legal notice implemented simultaneously provides that the Attorney General’s Office will be entitled to recover expenses incurred by his office in executing the European Account Preservation Orders. It will now be able to recover a fixed payment of €100.