Parliament unanimously approves re-establishment of Commercial Court

The Parliament of Malta unanimously voted in favour of re-establishing the Commercial Court as its own court, separate from the First Hall of the Civil Court, with the jurisdiction to hear cases of a commercial nature.

During Wednesday’s plenary session in the Maltese Parliament, both parliamentary groups voted in favour of Bill 133 to re-introduce the Commercial Court as a court in its own right for the first time since it was abolished in 1995.

Amongst several commercial matters to be heard in the reinstated Commercial Court include those related to intellectual property rights and merchant shipping.

This decision reverses its absorption into the First Hall of the Civil Court over 30 years ago. The Commercial Court was mainly abolished due to procedural delays.

This vote comes nearly a full year and a half since Prime Minister Robert Abela announced the government’s plans to remove the Commercial Section of the Civil Court and instead reinstate the Commercial Court as a standalone entity. PM Abela had said that re-establishing the Commercial Court would boost judicial efficiency in the context of Malta’s sustained economic growth.

This Bill was last discussed within an open plenary inside the Chamber of Representatives back on 1 October 2025, when it was discussed and voted past the Second Reading for technical amendments to be done prior to its formal enactment to law this evening.

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