The invention of a revolutionary encoding or cryptographic technology known as ‘blockchain’ is already central to a significant proportion of business-to business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) commerce, legal products and processes. From online purchasing to medical data and prescription management, data sharing of cross-jurisdictional criminal records, to possibly even management of entire countries’ registers and notarisations, this technology has huge potential. But with this potential to develop in as yet undefined ways and into various unregulated areas, one may argue that there is also the risk that ethical boundaries defining our basic rights to ownership, privacy and access to justice may be crossed.
On the 1st January 2017, the Family Business Act (Chapter 565 of the laws of Malta) came into force in Malta with the aim of, inter alia, encouraging the regulation of family businesses, their governance and the transfer of the family business from one generation to the next, thereby assisting family businesses to enhance their internal organisation and structure with a view to working towards a seamless and effective succession of the family business.
A decade or so of key regulatory innovation spanning various industries, such as financial services, gaming, yachting and aviation, has incentivised several global entrepreneurs to use Malta not only as an efficient domicile of choice for their business interests but also as a base for their luxury ‘toys’.
An overview of the various legal issues to be considered when launching your Malta start-up business
Malta has in recent years become an attractive base for anyone involved in the aviation industry. Malta’s Aviation Registry has in fact continued to achieve a steady growth with a record of 61 aircraft registered in 2015. The success of the Aviation Registry is sustained by fiscal incentives including a low corporate tax regime as well as rebate on profits. This is complemented by specialised technical personnel who are readily available, flexible and accessible.
In an interview conducted by AirMalta’s popular in-flight magazine, ‘Il-Bizzilla’, our Managing Partner, Dr Richard Bernard, discusses Malta’s ‘coming of age’ as a European financial services centre and explains what makes Malta so attractive to financial services operators.
An overview of Malta’s Recognised Incorporated Cell Companies (RICC) regulatory regime which effectively extended the ‘cellular’ concept to the world of hedge funds by introducing a ‘platform’ type of model comprising a RICC providing standardised administrative services to any number of incorporated cells (IC), each duly licensed as a collective investment scheme or fund, which administrative services largely consist of routine contractual matters and start-up support.
An overview of the key features of the Malta Trust and the various trust typologies accommodated by Maltese law – 2015
Perhaps one of the clearest manifestations of the legislator’s general mandate to protect those in a weaker, more vulnerable position, is that afforded to minority shareholders in virtue of the company law remedy of unfair prejudice.
The concept of ‘majority rule’ dictates that within a company structure, a minority shareholder will effectively have little control over the way the company is operated. It has long been recognised that this can lead to problems of minority oppression.
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