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Consumer Affairs Act (Cap. 378) Consumer Claims Tribunal (Amendment) Rules, 2011 (L.N. 59 Of 2011 )

CONSUMER AFFAIRS ACT (CAP. 378)Consumer Claims Tribunal (Amendment) Rules, 2011

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 27 of the Consumer Affairs Act, the Minister responsible for consumer affairs, with the concurrence of the Minister responsible for justice, has made the following rules:-

"3.1.A. A claim may also be filed by registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail.".

Reply" shall be substituted by the words "a blank Reply to a Claim".

"3.6. Upon receipt of a claim the Secretary shall immediately:

3.6.1. register the claim, assign it before an Arbiter and schedule a date for the hearing; and

3.6.2. serve both parties with a Notice of Hearing (Form 4 in the Second Schedule).

3.7. The hearing shall be scheduled on a day within fifty days from the filing of the claim after taking into consideration the time

Title.

S.L. 378.01.

Adds new rule

3.1.A to the

principal rules.

Amends rule

3.5.2. of the

principal rules.

Adds new rules

3.6., 3.7. and

3.8. to the

principal rules.

B 696 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

periods allowed by these rules for both parties to reply to the claim or counterclaim.

3.8. The Secretary shall assign cases before Arbiters sitting in one Tribunal in equal measure:

Amends rule

4.2. of the

principal rules.

Adds new rule

4.2.A of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

4.3. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

4.5.1. of the

principal rules.

Substitutes rule

4.5.2. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

5.1. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

5.2. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

5.3. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

5.4. of the

principal rules.

"Provided that where an Arbiter has been appointed to sit in the Tribunal (Gozo) and to sit in the Tribunal (Malta) he shall with respect to the latter appointment be assigned half the amount of cases assigned to an arbiter sitting exclusively in the Tribunal (Malta).".

"4.2.A. A reply to a claim may also be filed by registered

‘advice of receipt’ mail.".

"4.5.2. a copy of the Notice of Counterclaim (Form 1A) made by the defendant and a blank Reply to a Counterclaim (Form 2A) if the defendant has made a counterclaim with his Reply to a Claim in accordance with rule 5.".

Claim" shall be substituted by the words "Notice of Counterclaim".

(a) the words "Reply (Form 2)" shall be substituted by the words "Reply to a Counterclaim (Form 2A)"; and

(b) the words "and the rules for replying to a Notice of Claim" shall be substituted by the words "and the rules for replying to a Notice of Claim shall mutatis mutandis apply when a claimant replies to a counterclaim.".

"6.6. A hearing ordered by the Arbiter under this rule shall to the extent possible be held on the same day scheduled for

the hearing by the Secretary under rule 3.6.1.".

B 697

Amends rule

6.1. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

6.3. of the

principal rules.

Adds new rule

6.6. to the

principal rules.

"9.1. After the lapse of the period in which a reply to a claim and a reply to a counterclaim, if any, may be made, the Secretary shall verify that all the parties have been served with the Notice of Hearing, the Notice of Claim against them, a Reply to a Claim, a Notice of Counterclaim or a Reply to a Counterclaim, if any, in accordance with these rules.".

Amends rule

7.3. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

8.1. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

8.6. of the

principal rules.

Substitutes rule

9.1. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

9.2. of the

principal rules.

B 698 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

Deletes rule 9.3. of the principal rules.

Amends rule

10.4. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

10.5.1. of the

principal rules.

Amends rule

11.3. of the

principal rules.

Substitutes rule

11.9. of the

principal rules.

Adds new rule

11.11. to the

principal rules.

Substitutes rule

16.3. of the

principal rules.

words "the Notice of Hearing," and the words "or a Reply" shall be substituted by the words "a Reply to a Claim, a Notice of Counterclaim or a Reply to a Counterclaim, if any,".

"11.9. An Arbiter may, in accordance with article 23 of the Act, decide to appoint a technical referee if he considers that such an appointment is necessary.

11.9.1. The Arbiter shall appoint technical referees from the list of technical referees which the Minister may by Notice in the Gazette publish. Where such list has not been published or where none of the listed referees can provide the Tribunal with the expertise required, the Arbiter may appoint a referee at his discretion.

11.9.2. The appointed referee shall submit his report to the Tribunal by the date specified by the arbiter in the appointment which date shall be within thirty days from the date of that appointment.".

"11.11. All other provisions relating to referees in the Code shall apply unless in conflict with these rules.".

"16.3. An Arbiter may on the terms which he considers to be fair to all parties, in individual cases only and not generally to a number of unrelated cases:

16.3.1. shorten any time-limit set by these rules; or

16.3.2. extend any time-limit set by these rules, only in exceptional circumstances:

Provided that where a time-limit has been extended, due justification thereof is provided by the arbiter in the decree.".

B 699

Amends rule

16.7. of the

principal rules.

Amends point 1 in Tariff A in the First Schedule.

Amends point 2 in Tariff A in the First Schedule.

Substitutes Form 1 in the Second Schedule.

Substitutes Form 2 in the Second Schedule.

Substitutes Form 4 in the Second Schedule.

B 700 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

FROM
Form 1

IN THE CONSUMER CLAIMS TRIBUNAL
REGISTRY FILE NO.
LOCATION
CLAIMANT
Fill in the name, address and telephone number of the person making the claim
TO
Fil l in the na me, address and telephone number of the person the
claim is against
DEFENDANT
NOTICE TO THE PARTY AGAINST WHOM THE CLAIM IS MADE
Whoever is served with this notice of claim must within 18 days from the date of service file a reply. If he fails to do so, the Tribunal may then proceed to determine the dispute in his absence. A reply may also be filed by registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail.
Tribunal staff will fill in this part
PARTICULARS OF THE CLAIM
NOTICE TO CLAIMANT
You must first refer your claim to the Director of Consumer Affairs or to a registered consumer association who will try to settle your dispute. If no settlement is achieved within 15 working days you may then present
your claim before the Tribunal.
Give the reference number o f the Department of Consumer Affairs file or the reference used by the consumer association relating to your claim and state the date when you referred your claim to the Director or the consumer association, as the case may be.
WHERE?
Tell where this happened
WHEN?
Tell when this happened
reference number date
HOW MUCH?
State how much is
being claimed from the defendant €

B 701

ABANDONING PART OF THE CLAIM
If you are abandoning part of your claim in excess of € 3 , 4 9 4 . 0 6
sign this
de cl ara ti o n
I declare that any amount of my claim in excess of €3,494.06 is being abandoned
……………………………………………………………… signature
STEP 1
Comp lete th e No tice o f Claim using a typewriter or writing clearly. Make sure that all the copies are legible.
STEP 2
File the Notice of Claim by taking it to the Consumer Claims Tribunal Registry. Filing may also be effected by means of registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail sent to the Consumer Claims Tribunal Registry. You must pay a filing fee, which depends on the amount you are cla i ming a nd a service fee. The staff will check the form and when it is accepted for filing, apply the registry stamp, add on filing and service fees and assign a file number. The Secretary will then proceed to serve on your behalf the defendant with a copy of the Notice of Claim. The Secretary will register the claim, assign it before an Arbiter, schedule a date for the hearing and serve the defendant and you with a Notice of Hearing (Form 4 in the Second Schedule to these rules). The hearing will be scheduled on a day within fifty days from the filing of the claim after taking into consideration the time periods allowed by these rules for both parties to reply to the claim or counterclaim.
STEP 3
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
If the defendant files a Reply to a Claim, you will be served with a copy of the Reply to a Claim. If no reply is filed within 18 days from the d a te of th e n ot i f i c a t io n of th e Notice of Claim, you may apply f o r a d e f a u l t o r d e r a g a i n s t t h e defendant who failed to file a Reply to a Claim.
FROM
You must be sure that the address that you give is correct because this is where the Registry will send you any further notices or information. If your address changes at any time please notify the Registry immediately.
TO
Be sure that you have the correct address of the defendant. If there is more than one defendant put the name of each defendant (side by side) in the space provided. In such a case however make sure that the claim is a result of the same transaction.
WHAT HAPPENED?
You do not need to tell everything about your case here. You must tell just enough to let the defendant know what the case is all about. Keep your description brief. You will have a full opportunity to present all the facts during the trial.
WHERE?
A Notice of Claim must be filed in the Registry of the Tribunal where the transaction, to which the claim refers, took place.
HOW MUCH?
If the value of your claim is more than €3,494.06 (excluding filing and service fees) you may still present your claim before the Tribunal if you are prepared to abandon the amount of your claim in excess of €3,494.06. In such a case you must then declare under ABANDONING PART OF THE CLAIM that you are abandoning the amount of your claim in excess of €3,494.06.

B 702 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

PARTICULARS OF THE CLAIM - continued
LIST Y OUR W ITN ES SES IN THIS PA RT
WH AT H APP ENED?
Say what is b eing claimed, stating briefly the facts that led to the dispute

B 703

Form 1A

IN THE CONSUMER CLAIMS TRIBUNAL
REGISTRY FILE NO.
LOCATION
Notice to party making the counterclaim
Indicate the registry file number of the claim made against you.
FROM
Fill in the name, address and telephone number of the person making the counterclaim
DEFENDANT
TO
F i l l i n t h e n a m e , address and telephone number of the person the
counterclaim is against
CLAIMANT
NOTICE TO THE PARTY AGAINST WHOM THE COUNTERCLAIM IS MADE
Whoever is served with this notice of counterclaim must within 18 days from the date of service file a reply to a counterclaim. If he fails to do so, the Tribunal may than proceed to determine the dispute in his absence. A reply to a counterclaim may also be filed by registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail.
WHERE?
Tell where this happened
WHEN?
Tell when this happened
HOW MUCH?
State how much is being claimed from the
claimant €
ABANDONING
PART OF THE COUNTERCLAIM
If you are abandoning part of your counterclaim in excess of € 3, 4 9 4 . 0 6 s i g n this de cla r ation
I declare that any amount of my counterclaim in excess of €3,494.06 is being abandoned
……………………………………………………………… signature

B 704 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

STEP 1
Comp lete th e Not ice of Coun ter claim using a typewriter or writing clearly. Make sure that all the copies are legible.
STEP 2
File the Notice of Counterclaim together with your Reply to a Claim by taking it to the Consumer Claims Tribunal Registry. Such filing may also be effected by means of registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail sent to the Consumer Claims Tribunal Registry. You must pay a f ilin g fee, wh ich depends on th e a m o unt you are c laiming a nd a service fee. The staff will check the form and when it is accepted for filing, apply the registry stamp. The Secretary will register the counterclaim, which will be heard together with the original claim made against you as notified in the notice of hearing. The Secretary will proceed to serve on your behalf the claimant with a copy of the Notice of Counterclaim together with your Reply to a Claim.
STEP 3
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
If the claimant files a Reply to a Counterclaim, you will be served with a copy of the Reply to a Counterclaim. If no reply to a counterclaim is filed within 18 days from the date of t h e n o t i f i c a t i o n of t h e Notice of Counterclaim, you may apply for a de fau lt o r d er agai nst th e claimant who failed to file a Reply to a Counterclaim.
FROM
You must be sure that the address that you give is correct because this is where the Registry will send you any further notices or information. If your address changes at any time please notify the Registry immediately.
TO
Be sure that you have the correct address of the claimant. If there is more than one claimant put the name of each claimant (side by side) in the space provided. In such a case however make sure that the claim is a result of the same transaction.
WHAT HAPPENED?
You do not need to tell everything about your case here. You must tell just enough to let claimant know what the counterclaim is all about. Keep your description brief. You will have a full opportunity to present all the facts during the trial.
HOW MUCH?
If the value of your counterclaim is more than €3,494.06 (excluding filing and service fees) you may still present your counterclaim before the Tribunal if you are prepared to abandon the amount of your counterclaim in excess of
€3,494.06. In such a case you must then declare under ABANDONING PART OF THE COUNTER CLAIM that you are abandoning the amount of your counterclaim in excess of €3,494.06.

PARTICULARS OF THE COUNTERCLAIM - continued
LIST YOUR WITNESSES IN TH IS PART

B 705

WHAT HAP PENED?
Say what is being claimed, stating briefly the facts th at led to the disp ute

B 706 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

Form 2

IN THE CONSUMER CLAIMS TRIBUNAL
REGISTRY FILE NO.
LOCATION
TO
Fill in the name, address and telephone number of the person making the
claim against you
CLAIMANT
FROM
Fil l in the na me , address and telephone number of the defendant filing this reply
DEFENDANT
NOTICE TO DEFENDANT
If with your Reply to a Claim you want to make a counterclaim then you should complete a Notice of
Counterclaim yourself, following the instructions on that form. Make sure that your Notice of
Counterclaim is presented together with your Reply to a Claim.
Tribunal staff will fill in this part
* Amount claimed is only applicable if you as a defendant are also making a counterclaim together with this reply

B 707

STEP 1
Comp lete the R eply to a Clai m using a typewriter or writing clearly. Make sure that all the copies are legible.
STEP 2
File the Reply to a Claim by taking it to the Consumer Claims Tribunal Registry where the Notice of Claim against you was filed. A reply may also be filed by means of registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail. The staff will check the form and if it is in order, accept it for filing, apply the registry stamp and add on filing and service fees. The Reply to a Claim must be filed within 18 days from when you are served with the Notice of Claim.
STEP 3
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
Then the Tribunal will send a copy of your Reply to a Claim to the claimant. The date of hearing, the place where the dispute will be heard, and the presiding Arbiter are those specified in the Notice of Hearing form you have received together with this form.
FROM
This is where you identify the party who is filing this Reply to a Claim. Give an address where notices and other information about the dispute can be sent to you. If your address changes at any time please notify the Registry immediately.
DISPUTE
You do not need to tell everything about your case here. You must tell just enough to indicate to the claimant and to the Tribunal what parts of the claim you dispute and why. If there is anything in the Notice of Claim with which you agree, be sure to include that in your reply.
COUNTERCLAIM
If you want to make a counterclaim that is a claim against the claimant, then together with your Reply to a Claim you must also complete a Notice of Counterclaim following the instructions on that form. To make a counterclaim your own claim must be connected to or related to the claim that the claimant has made against you.

B 708 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

PARTICULARS OF THE REPLY TO A CLAIM - continued
LIST YOUR WITNESSES IN TH IS PA RT
DIS PUTE
State if you are disputing the claim being made. If yo u ar e, th en explain with what you disagree an d why.

B 709

Form 2A

IN THE CONSUMER CLAIMS TRIBUNAL
REGISTRY FILE NO.
LOCATION
TO
Fill in the name, address and telephone number of the person making the
counterclaim against you
DEFENDANT
FROM
F i l l i n t h e n a m e , address and telephone number of the claimant filing this reply to a counterclaim
CLAIMANT
Tribunal staff will fill in this part

B 710 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

STEP 1
C o m p l e t e t h e R e p l y t o a C o u nt e r c l a i m using a typewriter or writing clearly. Make sure that all the copies are legible.
STEP 2
File the Reply to a Counterclaim by taking it to the Consumer Claims Tribunal Registry where the Notice of Claim was filed. A Reply to a Counterclaim may also be filed by means of registered ‘advice of receipt’ mail. The staff will check the form and if it is in order, accept it for filing. The Reply to a Counterclaim must be filed within 18 days from when you are served with the Notice of Countercla im.
STEP 3
WHAT HAPPENS AFTER
Then the Tribunal will send a copy of your Reply to a Counterclaim to the defendant. The date of the hearing, the place where the dispute will be heard, and the presiding Arbiter are those specified in the Notice of Hearing form you were served with following the filing of your Notice of Claim.
FROM
This is where you identify the party who is filing this Reply to a Counterclaim. Give an address where notices and other information about the dispute can be sent to you. If this address changes at any time please notify the Registry immediately.
DISPUTE
You do not need to tell everything about your case here. You must tell just enough to indicate to the defendant and to the Tribunal what parts of the counterclaim you dispute and why. If there is anything in the Notice of Counterclaim with which you agree, be sure to include that in your reply.

PARTICULARS OF THE REPLY TO A COUNTERCLAIM - continued
LIST YOUR WITNESSES IN TH IS PART

B 711

DIS PU TE
State if you are disputing the counter claim bein g made. If you are, then explain with what you disagree and why.

B 712 VERŻJONI ELETTRONIKA

Form 4

IN THE CONSUMER CLAIMS TRIBUNAL
REGISTRY FILE NO.
LOCATION
TO CLAIMANT
AND
DEFENDANT
You are informed that the hearing of your dispute will take place before an Arbiter of the
Consumer Claims Tribunal:
on
date time
at before
address where the hearing will be held name of arbiter
signature of tribunal secretary date
WARNING TO PARTIES
If you fail to attend for the hearing without giving a valid reason, the Arbiter may decide the dispute in your absence and award expenses against you. If you cannot attend for the hearing you must then immediately apply in writing to the Tribunal requesting a postponement, explaining why you cannot attend. It is at the discretion of the Tribunal to decide whether your
request is justified or not.
NOTICE OF HEARING
ATTEND for the hearing at least ten minutes before the appointed time.
Make sure that you are fully prepared, since this will be your only opportunity to state your case and submit your evidence to the Tribunal.
BEAR IN MIND these points:
1. BRING all the documents that are relevant to the case such as receipts, correspondence or agreements.
2. MAKE SURE that any witnesses whose evidence you need arrive early. If a witness is not prepared to attend voluntarily, then you should apply to the Tribunal for the issue of a Summons to Witness (Form 5). The summons is an order of the Tribunal telling the witness to attend for the hearing.
3. PREPARE what you are going to say beforehand. Go over all the facts in chronological
order. You may during the hearing refer to any notes you may have prepared beforehand.