Law Blog

An arbitration clause is a contractual provision by which parties agree that, if a dispute arises between them, that dispute will be decided by arbitration rather than through the ordinary court process. In practical terms, the parties choose a private dispute-resolution mechanism, usually before an arbitrator, instead of immediately litigating before the courts. This does […]

Democracy is more than a mechanical process; it is a political ethic grounded in representation, legitimacy, and fairness. Malta’s electoral architecture has undergone successive recalibrations—not to depart from its democratic foundations, but to preserve their spirit in the face of evolving political realities. From the design of its hybrid electoral system to the corrective mechanisms […]

There is a quiet irony in the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on 4 May 2026 in Ludwig Camilleri v. L-Awtorità tal-Ippjanar. Planning law usually speaks in neat institutional categories. The Planning Authority decides applications. The Environment and Planning Review Tribunal reviews those decisions. The Court of Appeal intervenes on points of law. […]

The importance of a plan attached to a contract of sale is not limited to properties situated within a Land Registration Area. That is only one context in which the plan assumes formal registration importance. The wider legal point is more fundamental: a plan annexed to a promise of sale or final deed helps identify […]

It is often said, rather loosely, that planning policy may be “overruled” by commitment. The statement is convenient, but it is also imprecise. Commitment is not a planning loophole. Nor is it a licence to ignore policy simply because similar development has already been permitted somewhere nearby. The better proposition is narrower: commitment matters only […]

Most of the time, I write about public, civil and, or planning law. This subject may look more political, but it is still close to law. Elections are not merely contests between parties. They are moments in which democratic authority is renewed. For that reason, the way voters form their opinion should matter not only […]