Cap. 443 Art. 2Interpretation.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

''central authority'' means the Authority appointed under article

4; ''Contracting State'', in relation to any or all the Conventions, and for the purposes of all or any of the Conventions as having the force of law in Malta, means those States, other than Malta, as shall from time to time be specified by the Minister by an order made under article 3; ''Conventions'' collectively means The Hague Convention of 1965, The Hague Convention of 1970, and The Hague Convention of 1980; ''The Hague Convention of 1965'' means the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters which was signed at The Hague on the 15th November, 1965, the text of which Convention is set out in Part A of the First Schedule to this Act; ''The Hague Convention of 1970'' means the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters which was signed at The Hague on 18th March, 1970, the text of which Convention is set out in Part B of the First Schedule to this Act; ''The Hague Convention of 1980'' means the Convention on the International Access to Justice which was signed at The Hague on 25th October, 1980, the text of which Convention is set out in Part C of the First Schedule to this Act;

''Malta'' has the same meaning assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution;

''Minister'' means the Minister responsible for Justice; ''Non-Contracting State'' means any State which is not a time specify the Contracting States, other than Malta, for the purposes of any or all the Conventions.

(2) Such order shall specify the date of coming into force of the particular Convention, as between Malta and any State specified in the order.

(3) Where a particular Convention applies, or applies only, to a particular territory or particular territories specified in a declaration made by a Contracting State, references to that State in subarticles

(1) and (2) shall be construed as references to that territory or those territories -

(a) under Article 29 of The Hague Convention of 1965; or

(b) under Article 40 of The Hague Convention of 1970; or

(c) under Article 32 or 33 of The Hague Convention of 1980, as the case may be.