If you have suffered criminal injuries as a result of a violent intentional crime you may be lawfully entitled to compensation in a number of ways.

The Law:
The law specifically dealing with compensation to victims of crime is Subsidiary Legislation 9.12 entitled Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Regulations. The legal provisions thereof implement the requirements of Council Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to victims of crime.

Eligibility for compensation to victims of crime is statutorily limited to criminal injuries sustained on or after the 1st January, 2006 and discretionally limited by the considerations in Article 11 (a) to (e) of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme Regulations (click on the arrow alongside the service to access the Application for Criminal Injuries Compensation (S.L.9.12)). Such considerations may justify the Claims Officer, as the final authority to determine all claims for compensation for criminal injuries sustained, in withholding or in reducing an award.

Compensation from the Offender and the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme
There are a number of documents and certificates, which are important to take note of if you think you may qualify for compensation for an injury sustained by you through an act of crime, whether you intend to claim compensation from the offender or under the criminal injuries compensation scheme or both:

• Expenses that you have had to incur as a result of the criminal offence sustained by you
• Any loss of earnings that you may have suffered as a result of the criminal offence you sustained
• Any income that you could have possibly received as a result of the criminal offence you sustained (such as social and/or unemployment benefits, any relative Court Order for compensation)
• Police Report

For further information please visit the FAQ section

The Victim’s Toolkit is accessible here.

EU (Non-Maltese) Legal Professionals wishing to practise their legal profession in Malta will be required to register with the local competent authority. Such registration will entitle them to practise under their home country professional title.

Successful applicants will get to lawfully practise their legal profession in Malta under their home-country title as evidenced by the respective Certificate of Registration.

According to Directive 98/5/EC the applicant must be authorised to pursue his/her professional activities under one of the professional titles listed in Article 1.

Applicants must provide the following:

• Copy of birth certificate;
• Copy of the Certificate or Warrant to practise the legal profession in the EU country in which they have been registered including legal title;
• Copy of identification document or passport;
• Copy of qualifications;
• Document confirming that the applicant has been duly registered with the competent authority of the home-country Member State;
• Certificate of Good Standing from the competent authority in the home-country;
• Certificate of Conduct (issued not earlier than one (1) month from the date of application) by the competent authority in Malta or the competent authority of the home Member State as applicable

There are no specific requirements with respect to knowledge of specific languages. Fill in the online form and submit.

Click on the arrow alongside the respective service to access the online application.

Under Section 3 of the Commissioners for Oaths Ordinance,
(Chapter 79 of the Laws of Malta):

“3.(1) The Minister responsible for justice may from time to time, by warrant under his hand, appoint persons, being public officers, public employees, advocates, or legal procurators, to be Commissioners for Oaths, and may at any time revoke any such appointment.

(2) The Minister responsible for justice may also, from time to time, appoint persons, whether or not they are public officers, performing functions relating to the foreign service of the Government in any country outside Malta, to be Commissioners for Oaths in that country, and may at any time revoke any such appointment.

(3) The appointment of a public officer to be a Commissioner for Oaths and any appointment under sub article (2) may be made either personally or by the designation of the office held or the functions performed by the person to be so appointed.

(4) Every appointment made under this article shall be published in the Government Gazette, and every such appointment made after 1st January, 1980 shall have effect only from the date of such publication.”

Persons interested to serve as Commissioners for Oaths under the relative Ordinance of the Laws of Malta may wish to write a letter of request giving details on the reasons for which they deem it necessary to serve as Commissioners addressed to the Minister responsible for Justice or may also wish to send an email to this Department on info.justicedepartment@gov.mt for making such a request.

European Law
Malta implemented Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA by means of Legal Notice 55 of 3 February 2012 into its laws namely Subsidiary Legislation 9.17 entitled “Custodial Sentences or Measures Involving Deprivation of Liberty Orders (Execution in the European Union) Regulations”.

As the title of the FD indicates, it is based on the principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions that is a process whereby a decision which is taken by a judicial authority in one EU country is recognised, and where necessary, enforced by other EU countries as if it was a decision taken by the judicial authority of the latter countries.

It is pertinent to be noted that this instrument relates to criminal offences and that prisoner transfers with third countries are normally dealt with by bilateral or multilateral agreements concluded by the Member States themselves, or by other legal instruments.

One may apply by means of an Affidavit with the Correctional Services Agency.

Co-ordinating the processing of Petitions for Presidential Pardon made under Article 93 of the Constitution of Malta in co-operation with the Office of the President of Malta

Requests made under the Mental Health Act, Chapter 525 of the Laws of Malta, of Criminal Courts Jurisdictional Patients for leave. Read more about Chapter 525 of the Laws of Malta here

In May of 2016 the Department of Justice embarked on a Court Experts Reform Exercise as part of the Holistic Justice Reform.