Cap. 132 Art. 3Collection, realization and distribution of German enemy property.

(1) The President of Malta may by order make provision for the collection and realization of German enemy property and for the distribution of the proceeds thereof, to such extent as may be prescribed by the order, to persons who establish claims in respect of German enemy debts.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding subsection, an order under this section may make provision as to

*Omitted both in the 1942 Revised Edition and in this Revised Edition since it was war legislation of a temporary nature. prescribed by the order;

(b) the transfer and vesting of German enemy property to and in the administrator; and the discharge of any person specified in the order from liability in respect of things done or omitted to be done in relation to property transferred from him to the administrator;

(c) the manner and time in which claims in respect of German enemy debts are to be put forward and the furnishing and verification of information in connection with any such claims, including the production of books and documents;

(d) the determination, as respects any such claims, of the question whether the claim is established for the purposes of the order and of the amount of the claim;

(e) the distribution from time to time of the proceeds of the realization of German enemy property to persons whose claims in respect of German enemy debts have been established for the purposes of the order;

(f) the charging of fees to persons making claims in respect of German enemy debts, and the recovery of those fees by deduction from the amount to be distributed as aforesaid or otherwise;

(g) the disposal of sums in the administrator’s hands which, by reason of a failure to discover the whereabouts of persons to whom the sums ought to be distributed or for any other reason it is not practicable to distribute;

(h) the transfer to Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom of the net surplus, if any, remaining out of the proceeds of German enemy property after all accepted claims against the same by creditors in Malta have been settled.

(3) The administrator appointed under this section shall be known under the name of Administrator of German Enemy Property, and is in this Ordinance referred to as "the administrator".

(4) Without prejudice to the generality of the preceding provisions of this section, an order made under this section may -

(a) exclude from the application of the order such classes of claims as may be prescribed by the order;

(b) differentiate between different classes of claims, as respects the priority in which payments are to be made and the extent of the payments;

(c) make provision for enabling proceeds of German enemy property which belonged to, or was held or managed on behalf of, a particular person or body of particular for the making of claims and the furnishing of information.

(6) Notwithstanding anything in this section, the President of Malta may give a direction to the administrator requiring him to transfer to or for the benefit of any person specified in the direction any German enemy property, or the proceeds of any German enemy property, to which that person would have been entitled but for the * operation of the Trading with the Enemy Ordinance, 1939 , or any order made thereunder, and the administrator shall comply with any such direction.

(7) Where any German enemy property, on or at any time after the 3rd September, 1939, belonged to, or was held or managed on behalf of, a German company, and it appears to the President of Malta that the company was on the said day controlled directly or indirectly, by a Maltese company, the President of Malta may treat that property for the purposes of the last preceding subsection, to such extent as the President of Malta thinks fit having regard to the extent of the interest of the Maltese company in the German company, as property to which the Maltese company would have been entitled but for the operation of the Trading with the Enemy Ordinance, 1939*, or any order made thereunder. In this subsection, the expression "German company" means a body incorporated in, or under the laws of, Germany, and the expression "Maltese company" means a company formed under the laws of Malta.