S.L. 234.16 Art. 12Power of court to consolidate claims.

(1) Where any liability is alleged to have been incurred by any person in respect of an occurrence in respect of which his liability is limited under these regulations, such person may apply to the Civil Court, First Hall, for the determination of the amount of his liability and, where several claims are made or apprehended in respect of that liability, for the distribution of that amount rateably among the claimants, and in any such case the Civil Court, First Hall, may stay any proceedings pending in relation to the same matter, and any other court shall, upon an application to that effect and notwithstanding any other provision of law, transfer any such proceedings for trial by the Civil Court, First Hall. The Civil Court, First Hall, and on appeal the appellate court, may in any of the circumstances aforesaid proceed in such manner and subject to such procedure as to making persons interested parties to the proceedings and as to the exclusion of any claimants who do not come in within a certain time, and as to requiring security from the applicant, and as to the payment of any costs, as the court thinks just.

(2) In making any distribution in accordance with this regulation, the Civil Court, First Hall may, if it thinks fit, postpone the distribution of such part of the amount to be distributed as it deems appropriate having regard to any claim that may later be established before a court of any country outside Malta.

(3) No privilege or other right in respect of any ship or property shall affect the proportions in which, under Article 12 of the Convention, the fund is distributed among several claimants.