The Malta Maritime Law Association (MMLA) is a non-profit making, voluntary organisation which was set up in 1994 with the aim of promoting the study and advancement of Maritime Law and its administration. With its expertise, the MMLA plays a key role in ensuring that the Maltese maritime legislative and regulatory infrastructure is constantly updated, revised, amended and improved in a pro-active and well-researched manner, in order to enhance qualitative standards as well as to further consolidate Malta’s pre-eminent position as an international maritime services centre.

Even though a law association, the MMLA is composed of members from the various sectors in the maritime environment. Sub-committees provide a forum for discussion of arising issues and for the drafting of national legislation or international legal instruments.

In 2002, an agreement was signed with the then Malta Maritime Authority establishing that the MMLA shall act as a consultant and advisor to the Merchant Shipping Directorate and foster channels of communication between the authority and the industry.

The MMLA reflects a high degree of maritime legal expertise, also through its affiliation with the Comité Maritime International (CMI), the oldest international organisation in the maritime field formally established in 1897 in Antwerp. Through the participation of the MMLA, Malta is represented at high profile CMI meetings and can make its voice heard at the negotiating and drafting table of very important international legal instruments.

In 2014, MMLA President Dr. Ann Fenech was nominated and elected to the CMI Executive Council. This is the first time that a Maltese person has been elected to this highly prestigious international body. Dr Fenech was re-elected to the CMI Executive Council in 2017 and was elected Vice President of the CMI by the General Assembly in November 2018 in London after having been suggested for nomination by Ireland and Sweden. Dr Fenech was re-elected unanimously by the member national maritime law associations of CMI during the CMI Assembly held virtually on 30 September 2021.

Dr. Fenech currently co-chairs the International Working Group on Judicial Sales and is the CMI coordinator for this project at UNICTRAL. She attended the 40^th session of UNCITRAL Working Group V1 held in a hybrid fashion between 7 – 11 February 2022 when the Working Group completed its work by agreeing on a final Draft of the Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sale of Ships.

Over the past years, the MMLA has focused substantially on the organisation of seminars on topical issues, some of them addressed by the international most prominent experts associated with the subject.

Address: Sa Maison House, Triq Sa Maison, Il-Furjana FRN 1612 Malta

Phone: (+356) 25 594 118