FFF-Legal

20 June 2010

Partner Tonio Fenech delivers a talk on Corporate Governance in the context of family companies and NGOs. The presentation was delivered during the final session of the Directors Forum 2010 series organised by the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and the Institute of Directors (Malta Branch). Tonio traces the development of principles of corporate governance from a Maltese perspective and discusses a number of important recent legislative initiatives and amendments to the Maltese Companies Act.  A number of developments have been triggered by the landmark Court of Appeal (May 2010) decision in the 'Price Club' case which confirmed the personal liability and responsibility of company directors in the context of wrongful and fraudulent trading.

Please download the presentation from the following links:  

Presentation in PDF format  or  Presentation in Powerpoint format.

For further information please contact Tonio Fenech.

The Malta-France double taxation agreement has been recently amended and the new provisions came into force on the 1 June 2010. The  DTA has been in place since 1977 and was amended once in 1994. Amendments include a change in the tax rates thresholds in the context of certain cross-border payments, new anti-abuse provisions and a wider exchange of information clause. Below is a summary of the salient amendments to the DTA.

9 March 2010

Although it is already possible to register Aircraft in Malta, a new Bill has been presented in Parliament on the 9 March 2010 (Bill 47 entitled the Aircraft Registration Act 2010) containing a number of measures aimed at consolidating the laws relating to aircraft registration and to regulate all aspects of aircraft registration, ownership, nationality, aircraft mortgages and related matters.

We will be keeping you up to date with developments. For further information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The Authority for Transport in Malta Act (ACT XV of 2009, Chapter 499 of the Laws of Malta) came into force on the 1st January 2010. The Act establishes the Authority for Transport in Malta, a body corporate which assumes the functions previously exercised by the Malta Maritime Authority, the Malta Transport Authority, and the Director and Directorate of Civil Aviation, as well as roles relating to roads, transport by air, rail, road, or sea, within ports and inland waters, and merchant shipping.

Former Air Malta plc CEO Ernst Funk has joined Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal as Aviation Specialist and an advisor for International Business Development.

Mr Funk has an extensive background in commercial aviation. After 40 years with the Swiss national airline Swissair, where he successfully held top management positions including executive vice-president Cargo, EVP Intercontinental Markets, EVP Global Sales and senior VP Strategic Alliances, he was at the helm of Air Malta from October 2002 to March 2006. Mr Funk also has an in-depth knowledge of the business and the private aviation industry in particular. At the end of 2007, he accepted the challenge to be the Executive Chairman of PrivatAir in Geneva, a leading international business aviation group.

In line with its vision statement and drive to establish alliances with targeted centres of expertise, Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal is proud to announce that it has been appointed member of WTS Alliance, a global network of selected independent tax firms.

Christian Farrugia, co-managing partner of Fenech Farrugia Fiott Legal, has been appointed non-executive chairman of Bawag Malta Bank Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Austrian Bawag PSK banking group, with effect from December 1.

Bawag Malta Bank, which launched its operations in Malta in September 2003, provides financial solutions to customers in Malta, in the Mediterranean region, the Middle East and North Africa.