Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1044434
9 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 OCTOBER 2018 LAUR A CALLEJA A SPANISH resident in Mal- ta is insisted that foreigners' fundamental rights to access to justice should be protect- ed, which is why the Maltese law courts should offer Eng- lish-language hearing rights to petitioners. David Lorenzo Alvarez, a policy advisor for the Chamber of C o m m e r c e ' s business bu- reau, this week filed a petition in the House of Representatives calling for non- Maltese speak- ing claimants in the courts of law to have access to proceedings in the English language. English is one of Malta's two national languages. "I believe it is important for everyone to have the same ac- cess, equal access, to exercise citizens' rights, within and outside the courts," Lorenzo Alvarez told MaltaToday. The Maltese courts' work- ing language is in Maltese although court transcripts for foreigners who testify in English, usually at the magis- trate's discretion, are usually reproduced in English for the portion of that testimo- ny. Other foreign language speakers can be provided an interpreter who then trans- lates for the presiding judge in Maltese. "That does not always hap- pen in Malta, for example the Small Claims Tribunal, which is a tribunal to claim small amounts and in which one does not need to hire a lawyer, but is only accessi- ble in the Maltese language," Alvarez said. He emphasised his frustra- tion at the fact that when an individual asks to be able to access the courts' case law in English, the reply is al- ways that the language of the courts is Maltese. "In many countries as well as the European Court of Human Rights, the working language of the court is used even if applicants do not understand it, but access to justice in the complainants' language is always granted. In Malta, there are two offi- cial languages, but only one is used for access to justice with the excuse that that Maltese is the working language," he said. His petition asks the Parlia- ment's petitions committee to introduce legislation that en- sures people can "equally ex- ercise their rights and access to public services, including the judiciary, in either of the official languages" of Malta. Alvarez said the laws dictating court procedure in Malta had to be updated to reflect Maltese society, and to al- low international investors access to the courts even in cases where no law- yer is required as in the small claims tribunal. Alvarez also said this put non-Maltese speaking inves- tors and citizens on an une- qual footing. He has also sub- mitted a similar complaint to the Ombudsman and the National Commission for Promotion of Equality, say- ing that the equality commis- sioner has recommended that the minister start legislative changes for a system in which translations can be provided. His petition garnered just 165 signatures as of Friday. lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt NEWS REGISTER OF BENEFICIAL OWNERS ATTENTION ALL FOUNDATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS As Per the Regula�ons in Legal No�ces 375 & 376 of 2017: ALL FOUNDATIONS & ASSOCIATIONS ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT INFORMATION PERTAINING TO THEIR BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP TO THE REGISTRAR FOR LEGAL PERSONS, AT THE PUBLIC REGISTRY, AT IDENTITY MALTA. The Regula�ons came into effect as from the 1 st of January 2018, to implement Direc�ve (EU) 849/2015 on the preven�on of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing. Please note as follows: All founda�ons & associa�ons, sports organisa�ons, coopera�ves & any other organisa�on, not being exempted in the said Regula�ons, WHETHER REGISTERED OR NOT in terms of any law, & WHETHER ESTABLISHED BEFORE OR AFTER 1 st January 2018, are required to comply. Informa�on on the legal term 'beneficial ownership' & on the method of submission of the required form may be obtained from the website of the Registrar for Legal Persons h�ps://iden�tymalta.com/legalpersons. The form to be ini�ally submi�ed is Form 1 – Submission of Ini�al Informa�on, which is found on the same webpage. For further informa�on, kindly contact the Office of the Registrar for Legal Persons, at the Public Registry, Malta, Evans Building Level 1, Merchants Street, Valle�a, via telephone on 25904108/9 or via email to hilary.grech@gov.mt & rochelle.magri@gov.mt ALL ORGANISATIONS ARE URGED TO COMPLY WITHOUT DELAY Spaniard says tribunals must give English language option David Lorenzo Alvarez "I believe it is important for everyone to have the same access, equal access, to exercise citizens' rights, within and outside the courts"