Cap. 318 Art. 107Appointment of Umpires. Re-numbered by: XXIV. 1993.2.

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Minister may appoint one or more persons to serve as Umpires in cases that may be referred to them from time to time, sohowever that -

(a) in all cases the person so appointed shall have held a warrant to practise the profession of advocate in Malta for at least seven years; and

(b) the appointment shall be for a period of one year.

(2) The Umpire shall, before entering upon his duties, take an oath of office before the Attorney General in the form approved by the Minister.

(3) The Umpire shall have the power to take expert advice when necessary at his discretion, and to summon any person to appear before him to give evidence on oath and/or to produce documents; and for these purposes he shall have the powers which are conferred by law on the First Hall of the Civil Court. Every summons shall be signed by him and shall be served either personally or by registered post, and in the latter case, in proving service, it shall be sufficient to prove that the summons was properly addressed and posted.

(4) The Director shall be entitled to appear and be heard on any appeal or reference to the Umpire.

(5) The Umpire shall abstain from taking cognizance of a case or may be challenged in any of the circumstances in which a judge would abstain or can be challenged in accordance with the provisions of article 734 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure and in every such case the provisions of Sub-Title II of