Parliament was recently convened  in order to enact the Legal and Other Time Periods (Suspension and Interruption) Act 2020 in all its stages. This Act has granted authority to the Justice Minister to publish subsidiary legislation for the suspension of legal limits  and the relative legal notice, effective from 2^nd April 2020 has since been published (http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lp&itemid;=30086&l;=1).

Prior to this enactment, legal time limits have already been suspended in terms of at least another 3 legal notices, but these were published in terms of the Public Health Act. There is a certain degree of overlap and this probably reflects the legislator’s concerns that the previous legal notices may not have covered all eventualities. This Act makes it clear that those legal notices shall have effect as though they were published in terms of this newly enacted piece of legislation.

In terms of this Act, the Minister responsible for justice is authorised to publish regulations in connection with the running of prescriptive periods, if the court closure or the closure of any government office department or entity may have a prejudicial consequence as regards the running of legal time limits.

Time limits may be suspended or interrupted in terms of this Act with regards to both substantive or procedural law and prescriptive and peremptory time periods. The time limits which may be suspended may be those established by any court of law, government department, agency or public authority and may refer to any agreement, whether resulting from a private writing or public deed.

https://legislation.mt/eli/cap/609/eng/pdf