Authors: Michela Pace, Rachel Grixti – WH Partners
The recent enactment of Act No. IV of 2026, which is designed to come into force upon notice by the Minister for Justice, marks a transformative milestone in the evolution of Malta’s legal infrastructure. By amending the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure and the Commercial Code, the legislator has formally elevated the Commercial Court to a standalone superior court, placing it on equal footing with the Civil Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Constitutional Courts.
This structural shift is far more than a technical renaming of the previous “Commercial Section”; it represents a sophisticated response to the increasing complexity of global commerce and a clear statement of intent regarding Malta’s role as a primary Mediterranean hub for maritime, financial, and digital trade.
Amendments to the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure (COCP)
The scope of the new court’s jurisdiction, defined under the newly added Article 32A to the COCP, is particularly telling of the Act’s strategic importance. It consolidates a wide range of specialised sectors, including merchant shipping, intellectual property, competition law, and pre-insolvency matters, under one roof.
The Act also clarifies through Article 36D that judgements from this new court are subject to direct appeal to the Court of Appeal, streamlining the path to finality for business litigants who require swift resolution.
Amendments to the Commercial Code
While the COCP establishes the court’s existence, the amendments to the Commercial Code ensure that the terminology and authority of the law reflect this new reality. The Act systematically replaces references to the “Civil Court, First Hall” or the “Civil Court (Commercial Section)” with the “Commercial Court” throughout the Commercial Code.
These changes are particularly vital in matters of corporate governance and trade regulation. For instance, amendments to Articles 9 and 12 of the Commercial Code transfer the authority to authorise minors to trade or to handle interdicted persons’ commercial interests directly to the Judge of the Commercial Court. This ensures that the same specialised eye overseeing large-scale corporate litigation is also supervising the fundamental entry points into the commercial world.
Moreover, the Act updates the registration and penalty mechanisms. Under Article 38, the Commercial Court is now the sole authority responsible for the registers of traders, including those residing in Gozo. By centralising the authority to fix penalties, as seen in amendments to Article 37, the Commercial Code now recognises the Commercial Court as the singular guardian of trade integrity in Malta. This eliminates the historical “civil-commercial” overlap that often led to procedural confusion for practitioners.
A Seamless Transition for the Business Community
To prevent the new establishment from causing a backlog, the Act includes essential transitory provisions. It stipulates that while the Commercial Court takes immediate cognisance of new cases, any pending causes in the former Commercial Section are automatically assigned to the new court. Crucially, to protect the “time-value” of ongoing litigation, cases that are already adjourned for judgement or final submissions in other civil courts will remain there, ensuring that the transition to a specialised system does not inadvertently penalise those at the finish line of their legal journey.
Ultimately, once Act No. IV of 2026 comes into force these changes to both the procedural and substantive codes, should provide a holistic upgrade to the Maltese legal system, ensuring that the “Commercial Court” is not merely a name change, but a fully empowered institution.
