Court delays could have an impact on foreign investors considering starting up a business in Malta, President of the Chamber of Advocates Louis de Gabriele told WhosWho.mt.

Dr de Gabriele was recently elected President of the Chamber. It is not his first time in the role. He was appointed President in 2018 following the resignation of George Hyzler, who became Malta’s first Standards Commissioner at the time. Dr de Gabriele was re-elected in 2020, and served as President of the Chamber unto 2023.

During an interview with this newsroom, he was asked about the length of time court cases take to conclude, which he said is still problematic today.

He said that while it doesn’t take as long to decide a court case as it used to 10 – 15 years ago, the pace at which life today moves has increased. “So we tend to make the parallel with the way we live today.” On this basis, he said, “it is still pretty slow.” He said that it shouldn’t take that long to determine cases.

“But we also need to understand that our courts are inundated with new laws being enacted, and new disputes coming to the courts,” he said. Dr de Gabriele added that the court’s resources have not multiplied in the same way as the nature, complexity and volume of cases there are today.

While the length of cases is still an issue he said, one point which he believes needs to be tackled is the processes used today. These processes, he said, are still embedded their roots in the 19th century. “We need an overhaul, a process reengineering of procedure which will help to streamline that process further and at least shorten those delays.”

Responding to a separate question as to whether he believes court case delays could have an impact on foreign investors looking to startup a business in Malta, Dr de Gabriele said they could.  

"They can have such an impact. Foreign investors will look at the way that disputes are resolved within the jurisdiction, and there is a cost to them."

He gave an example regarding banks and lending activity. "Banks would probably price into their granting facilities or advances to customers, the length of time it would take them to enforce security in Malta." This, he said, is because Malta has "very cumbersome" processes that are "not attuned to the realities of 2026. And they need to change."

During the interview, while responding to a question regarding support staff for the members of the judiciary, he could not say if judges feel they have enough staff or not. But he highlighted the need for a digitalised environment which will have more streamlined systems using modern technology. He mentioned that a few years ago a digitalisation process of court procedures was in the offing. “It is still in the offing. We really need to bring that in line because it will no doubt assist.”

“Just think in terms of a judge having the availability of a whole case file on their system, and being able to access it digitally, which is also available to the lawyers and the parties. It will already be a significant improvement.”