Court Approved Private Sales

As Maltese legal practitioners, we have for years been harping on the high standards of and comfort which Maltese law offers the mortgagee however it was the recession of 2008 which tested whether the system was as robust as we had been saying it was.

In 2006, our Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure underwent a radical shake up when it came to laws governing the jurisdiction of our courts in rem, arrest of ships and enforcement mechanisms. As far as the latter is concerned, 2006 saw the introduction of the "Court Approved Private Sale". The advantage was that the mortgagee (who under Maltese law can proceed directly with enforcement) could himself source a private buyer at the highest possible agreed price; enter into an MOA with the private buyer, request the court to approve the sale and on court approval, the vessel would be sold free and unencumbered. This is a huge advantage because it enables the mortgagee to negotiate the best price for the benefit of