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Academy Documents

Please access the Students' Policies & Forms through this link. The following documents are all available in the link - Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct,  Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy and Student Disciplinary Policy.

 

Online Sessions' Link

To connect to the online sessions of this study programme please click on this link. You will be asked to register your attendance for each session you join, if you are not already signed in into your Zoom account. You will also be asked for the password which is below.

Meeting ID: 854 3534 1344
Passcode: 448647

Make sure that you show with your name & surname as you have been registered for the study programme. This is very important for attendance purposes.

 

Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

LectureDateTimePresentationNotes (If Any)Session Recording
Lecture 0117 October 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 01Additional Notes on slidesRequest
Lecture 0224 October 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 02Request
Lecture 0331 October 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 03Request
Lecture 047 November 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 04Request
Lecture 0514 November 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 05Request
Lecture 0621 November 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 06Request
Lecture 0728 November 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 07Request
Lecture 081 December 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 08Request
Lecture 095 December 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 09Request
Lecture 1019 December 202317:30 to 20:00hrsPresentation 10Request

Lecturers 

Dr Ann Bugeja
Dr Nicola Buhagiar
Dr Christine Calleja
Dr Theresienne Mifsud
Mr Angelito Sciberras
Dr Sarah Vassallo Ciliberti

 

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading

 

Lecture 1 - The Maltese Legal System - Dr Sarah Vassallo Ciliberti

Learning Outcomes

This lecture intends to introduce participants to the basic principles underlying the Maltese legal system. Malta has a rich history composed of a variety of colonisers, each of whom have played a vital role in shaping the Maltese legal hybridity during their time on the islands. Therefore, a sound understanding of Malta’s history will prove essential in understanding the rationale behind the local law and customs we have today.

During this lecture, participants will also be guided through the main sources of Maltese legislation in context, whilst also being guided on how to effectively search for relevant statutes online. A thorough explanation of the manner in which Maltese statute books are compiled and interpreted will be provided in this light too. Participants will be guided as to how to read, interpret and cite local legislation.

Due importance shall also be given to the workings of the Maltese courts of law and other adjudicating bodies as established by law, whilst the importance of jurisprudence and its relevance in legal interpretation will also be studied.

Core Reading List

  • Attard, D., 2012, The Maltese Legal System (Vol I & II).
  • Attard, D., 2015. Non-Autochthonous Law Influences on the Maltese Legal System (Id-Dritt, Volume XXII, 2011, 265-278)

Supplementary Reading List

  • Cremona, J, 1994. The Maltese Constitution And Constitutional History Since 1813, Publishers Enterprises Group.

Lecture 2 - Outline of Maltese Company Law - the Various Types of Structures - Dr Nicola Buhagiar

Learning Outcomes

The lecture will cover the three types of commercial partnerships under the Companies Act (Chapter 386 of the laws of Malta) (the “en nom collectif”, the “en commandite”and the “limited liability company”). The lecture will also discuss the players of each type of commercial partnership and their role within the partnerships.

Core Reading List

Lecture 3 - Setting up a Company – the Process - Dr Nicola Buhagiar

Learning Outcomes

The lecture will cover the process for the incorporation of a limited liability company in Malta. In particular, the lecture will discuss the documents which must be submitted to the Malta Business Registry and the clauses in the constitutional documents of a company which merit consideration by advisors.

Core Reading List

Lecture 4 - Overview of Employment Law - Dr Ann Bugeja

Learning Outcomes

Maltese employment law is mainly governed by the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap 452) together with the variety of subsidiary statutory instruments enacted through the powers the same Act allows. This lecture aims to provide participants with a holistic overview of Maltese employment and industrial law, both in the private and public sector, among which the rules may occasionally differ.

Topics covered will include the rationale behind the protectionist nature of employment law, its sources , minimum conditions of employment, the nature of contracts of employment and the difference types thereof, and the terms of termination of employment. This lecture shall also touch upon the role of the Industrial Tribunal in settling employment matters under Maltese law.

Core Reading List

Supplementary Reading List

Lecture 5 - Commercial Agreements - Dr Theresienne Mifsud

Learning Outcomes

  • How to Enter a Valid Contract (elements of a contract)
  • General contract principles
  • Using the right contract type
  • Understanding general contract clauses
  • Liability and Indemnity clauses
  • Force Majeure
  • Authority to sign contracts and E-signatures
  • Dispute resolution

Core Reading List

Lecture 6 - Data Protection - the Salient Features - Mr Angelito Sciberras

Introduction to GDPR, Data vs Personal Data, Company Personal Data, Controller and Processor relationships, Data Processing Principles, Data Subjects Rights, Lawful processing, Data Breaches, Subject Access Requests, Documentation - Policies and Procedures.

Learning Outcomes

  • Understand the principles of data processing
  • More awareness on how to protect the data being processed and to limit the processing to what is necessary
  • Able to assist in a data breach
  • Identify a Subject Access Request and act upon it
  • Identify whether acting as a Controller or Processor
  • Explain essential company and data privacy implications.
  • Apply essential company and data protection law

Core Reading List

 

Lecture 7 - Understanding Intellectual Property - Dr Theresienne Mifsud

Learning Outcomes

  • What is Intellectual Property? What is protected?
  • Explanation of the different types of rights protected under Maltese Law: Patents; Design Rights; Trademarks; Copyright; Sui Generis Rights; Geographical Indications of Origin; Trade Secrets.
  • Enforcement
  • The Industrial Property Registrations Directorate (IPRD)
  • Learn EUIPO and EPO

Core Reading List

 

Lecture 8 - Overview of Health and Safety Legislation - Dr Christine Calleja

Learning Outcomes

  • Main features of the Occupational Health and Safety Authority Act and its application;
  • Duties of the employer and employee rights in the area of occupational health and safety;
  • Regulations dealing with specific aspects of occupational health and safety;
  • Offences and penalties and calculation of damages in injury cases.

By the end of the presentation, students will be expected to have a good grasp of the main principles of Maltese occupational health and safety, in particular as regards the main duties of employers in this field.

Core Reading List

 

Lecture 9 - Consumer Law - Dr Theresienne Mifsud

Learning Outcomes

  • Introduction to Consumer Law
  • Basic issues underlying consumer policy in the EU and Malta
  • Main legal sources of consumer law in EU and Malta
  • Focus on specific aspects of consumer protection such as: Unfair Contract Terms, Unfair Commercial Practices (Advertising), Product Safety, Product Liability; Sale of Goods and Guarantees, the New Deal for Consumers
  • Understanding the impact of consumer policy on business both in Malta and within the EU.
  • Enforcement and dispute resolution, private claims and collective action.
  • The MCCAA, Consumer Claims Tribunal

Core Reading List

Supplementary Reading List

  • Weatherill Stephen, [2014] EU Consumer Law and Policy, Second Edition

Lecture 10 - Debt Recovery and Credit Management - Dr Theresienne Mifsud

Learning Outcomes

  • Due Diligence/Know your Customer
  • Late Payment in Commercial Transactions
  • Credit Instruments
  • Consumer Credit
  • Credit Control Systems
  • Elements required to ensure effective debt recovery
  • Constitution of debt and debt recovery through the courts

Core Reading List

 

Methods of Assessment

One Assignment 100% of final score

Assignment

You have to choose 1 out of the 2 questions which will be made available in the Assignment Submission form below. Assignment should be submitted by not later than Thursday 25 January 2024. The assignment has to be submitted together with the Assignment Submission Form through 21 Academy's plagiarism software Turnitin. Please indicate the questions which you have addressed in the Assignment Submission form and upload assignment in pdf format. Do not scan assignment but convert/save it directly to pdf. We ask you to keep the similarity percentage very low and definitely below 20%. You should  review and rephrase any assignments which show more than 20% similarity. Any assignments submitted above 20% similarity will be assessed manually and may be failed if found to be plagiarised.

Assignment Submission Form

Please read further below in how you are expected to plan, design and submit your assignment and how your assignment will be assessed.

If you need information on how to plan, draft and submit your assignment follow the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting your Assignment.

We are also making the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric available for your guidance. This is a performance-based assessment tool. Tutors will use the rubric to assist them to allocate scoring while it allows students to understand what is required in the assignment and how it will be graded.

 

Referencing Style

Your assignments, presentations and reflective noted should be referenced using the Harvard Referencing style. Please follow this video to understand this referencing style.  Harvard Referencing Style.

 

Submitting Assignments - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you that assignment questions are available through an email. Through another email sent to you by Turnitin (probably on the same day) you will be notified that you have been added to a "class" where you may upload your assignment/s. Assignments should be submitted by not later than 23:59hrs of the assignment submission deadline shown on the Assignment Submission form and/or the "class".

At 21 Academy you can submit more than one draft of your assignment before the submission final deadline. The last version left uploaded at the submission deadline will be considered to be your final submission paper and will be the one which will be assessed. Make sure that your final submission does not go beyond 20% similarity when including direct quotations (the sentences in-between quotes).

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin - submitting a paper

To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin follow this 1 minute video - understanding the similarity report