David E . Zammit
University of Malta, Civil law, Faculty Member
- Legal Anthropology, Narrative Analysis, Tort Law, Migration (Anthropology), Human Rights, Clinical Legal Education, and 16 moreHybrid and Mixed Legal Systems, Anthropology of the Mediterranean, Civil Law, Migration Studies, Migration, Narrative, Human Rights Theory, Philosophy Of Law, Anthropology, Ethnography, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Citizenship, Immigration Status & Nationality, Civil Society and the Public Sphere, Anthropology of space, and Illegality (Anthropology)edit
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The plaintiff filed an application with the defendant (a public corporation) for the allocation of factory space by title of lease in terms of the Business Promotion Act. The plaintiff was allocated a factory on a temporary basis while... more
The plaintiff filed an application with the defendant (a public corporation) for the allocation of factory space by title of lease in terms of the Business Promotion Act. The plaintiff was allocated a factory on a temporary basis while the defendant processed the application. Eventually the defendant refused the application ‘on grounds of policy’, because, in its opinion, the plaintiff did not qualify as a beneficiary under the Act: the plaintiff’s business was the restoration of antique furniture, which was not considered as a ‘priority sector’ by the defendant. The plaintiff was therefore evicted from the factory which it had been allocated on a temporary basis. The plaintiff subsequently filed an action for judicial review of the defendant’s decision on the ground of abuse of administrative discretion, arguing that other entities carrying on a similar business had been granted factory space by the defendant. It also claimed damages.
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This paper introduces the reader to clinical legal education in Malta by: 1) outlining how the internal hybridity of the Maltese legal system and the juxtaposition of English and Continental models in Maltese legal education have... more
This paper introduces the reader to clinical legal education in Malta by: 1) outlining how the internal hybridity of the Maltese legal system and the juxtaposition of English and Continental models in Maltese legal education have influenced the development of the Law Clinic at the University of Malta; 2) describing how the Maltese clinical model operates currently; 3) reviewing the experiences of students involved in clinical work.
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This paper aims to explore the relationship between tourism and community celebrations. 1 This relationship is often presented as being of an uni-directional casual nature, with positive or negative effects depending on the observer's... more
This paper aims to explore the relationship between tourism and community celebrations. 1 This relationship is often presented as being of an uni-directional casual nature, with positive or negative effects depending on the observer's prejudices. Hence some argue that tourism boosts such ritual events, providing an audience and funds which expand their size. Others point to increasing disaffection with such rituals on the part of the 'locals', as the meaning of the event is irreparably altered in the process of turning it into a tourist commodity. On the basis of observations I made while conducting anthropological fieldwork in a Maltese village2 which I will here call HalHarrub, I shall argue that both views are misleading insofar as they overlook the polysemic nature of ritual events and the manifold effects of tourism. My starting point is the Lejla Harrubija, a community celebration which is staged in Mal-Marrub on a Sunday night two or three weeks before the village...
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1 The most important legislative initiative in the field of Tort Law during 2010 was the publication of the White Paper on civil damages for death and personal injuries, containing proposed amendments to the Civil Code and two new pieces... more
1 The most important legislative initiative in the field of Tort Law during 2010 was the publication of the White Paper on civil damages for death and personal injuries, containing proposed amendments to the Civil Code and two new pieces of subsidiary legislation, viz Regulations on Assessment of Damages for Death or Incapacity (the ‘Liquidation of Damages’ rules) and Regulations on Damages for Loss of Earnings (the ‘Scale of Disabilities’ rules). The highlights of the proposed legislation are (a) the introduction of non-pecuniary damages for death and personal injury and (b) a higher degree of predictability in the assessment of damages.
The only piece of legislation with relevance in the field of tort law to be enacted during 2008 was the Prevention and Remedying of Environmental Damage Regulations, enacted on 29 April 2008 by Legal Notice 126 of 2008 under the... more
The only piece of legislation with relevance in the field of tort law to be enacted during 2008 was the Prevention and Remedying of Environmental Damage Regulations, enacted on 29 April 2008 by Legal Notice 126 of 2008 under the Environment Protection Act2. The purpose of these Regulations is to establish a framework of environmental liability based on the polluter-pays principle, to prevent and remedy environmental damage and to implement the provisions of Directive 2004/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004.
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Editorial of the Mediterranean Journal of Human Rights Volume 8 Number 2 2004 (Special Issue), dedicated to: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE FORGOTTEN HISTORIES OF THE ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
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In this article, we lay out the broad outlines of the Maltese legal traditionPUBLISHEDpeer-reviewe
Research Interests: Malta and British Law
Contracts are illegal not only when they contravene specific legal rules, but also when they are considered immoral or contrary to public policy. In this way rules of contract law also influence the exceptional and sometimes fragile... more
Contracts are illegal not only when they contravene specific legal rules, but also when they are considered immoral or contrary to public policy. In this way rules of contract law also influence the exceptional and sometimes fragile relationship between law and morality. They determine which issues can be made the subject of a legally valid and enforceable agreement according to the values underlying the legal order to which they pertain. But despite their geographic proximity, shared history and common aim of a strong EU internal market there are remarkable differences in the underlying values of many European legal systems. This book brings together a group of well renowned contract lawyers that analyse how their own legal systems deal with 12 interesting cases of morally dubious agreements, including for example suretyships, conditional contracts of succession, nuptial agreements, surrogacy agreements, contracts for sex work and, of course, usurious contracts. All inspired by rea...
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The Lectures series on Campus Fm 103.7 is a transmission of public lectures, mostly but not exclusively, held at the University of Malta. These include lectures from the Works in Progress Seminar Series, Language Planning and Lights on... more
The Lectures series on Campus Fm 103.7 is a transmission of public lectures, mostly but not exclusively, held at the University of Malta. These include lectures from the Works in Progress Seminar Series, Language Planning and Lights on Theatre Traffic.
Research Interests: Immigration and Refugee
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This paper uses Rene Girard’s mimetic theory as a standpoint from which to critically review the basic hypotheses about social cohesion developed by Emile Durkheim and later inverted and adopted by Ernest Gellner in his influential... more
This paper uses Rene Girard’s mimetic theory as a standpoint from which to critically review the basic hypotheses about social cohesion developed by Emile Durkheim and later inverted and adopted by Ernest Gellner in his influential account of the development of nationalism. By questioning whether homogeneity promotes or undermines cohesion a set of hypotheses concerning migrant integration are deduced and these are deployed to make sense of the other papers published in this issue. Thus policies which aim to equalise the status of migrants and nationals in host societies are often objected to precisely because they are viewed as promoting a dangerous homogeneity. In this Mediterranean context integration appears to happen most often via social networks which ‘put migrants in their place’ within informal social hierarchies.
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This article explores the strategies adopted by Muslim and Catholic spouses in celebrating and legitimizing unregistered Muslim marriages in Malta. It demonstrates how these couples' decisions to celebrate such marriages and to introduce... more
This article explores the strategies adopted by Muslim and Catholic spouses in celebrating and legitimizing unregistered Muslim marriages in Malta. It demonstrates how these couples' decisions to celebrate such marriages and to introduce various 'Catholic' practices into their wedding ceremonies reflect the way they construct their identities and seek to socially ground them as an adaptive response to the overarching social context that also expresses their agency. These choices are contextualized in relation to the evolution of Maltese marriage law from colonial Church/State dualism until the present 'post-Catholic' scenario. Despite significant recent changes to marriage laws, Canon law rules continue to shape the way marriage is understood. This is important as marriage also serves a critical gate-keeping function in determining access to Maltese citizenship and residence. The article highlights the way in which the gap between formal (national) and informal (religious) law is managed by spouses and the local Imam so as to facilitate the formation of Muslim marriages.
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1. The relationship between Civil Liability and Damage in Malta’s Mixed Jurisdiction.-2.Maltese Jurisprudence on Medical Liability.-3.Foreseeability of Contractual Damages and the ‘Logic of Consequence’.-4.‘Subtraction by Addition’ in... more
1. The relationship between Civil Liability and Damage in Malta’s Mixed Jurisdiction.-2.Maltese Jurisprudence on Medical Liability.-3.Foreseeability of Contractual Damages and the ‘Logic of Consequence’.-4.‘Subtraction by Addition’ in Maltese tort law.–5.Maltese Jurisprudence on Psychological Damage.-5.1.Karen Zimelli v. Michael Sammut.-5.2.Peter Sultana v. Anthony Abela Caruana.-5.3Paul Bottone u Josephine Mallia et. v. Rita Saliba et. -5.4.Antonella Tonna v. Roderick Gauci.-5.5.Andrew u Maria Antonia konjugi Xerri et. v. Marija Rita sive Marita Mercieca et.-5.6.Iris Cassar et. v. Francis Gauci.-5.7.Abela Francis et. v. Spiteri Carmel.-5.8. Jo-Ann Stivala et. v. Lorenza u Francis konjugi Dimech et.-5.9.John Peter Stanton v. Schembri and Sons Ltd.-6.Psychological Damage as non-Moral Pecuniary Damage.-7.When Medical Negligence causes Psychological Harm. -8. Reversing Ubi Jus Ibi Remedium in Maltese Civil law?
This chapter reviews, from a legal anthropological standpoint, certain key features of the legal and administrative structures through which African asylum seekers are “received” and “managed” in Malta. Particular attention is paid to the... more
This chapter reviews, from a legal anthropological standpoint, certain key features of the legal and administrative structures through which African asylum seekers are “received” and “managed” in Malta. Particular attention is paid to the ways in which the Refugee Status Determination process operates and how this process itself, as well as the various forms of subsidiary and/or humanitarian status which result from it, are a medium through which vernacular Maltese understandings of refugee law are constructed. Thus this review shows how official structures, procedures and statuses are implicated in producing and re-producing grass roots’ social perceptions of these migrants as abusive recipients of humanitarian charity instead of being subjects of legal rights. In this context integration can only occur through the informal economy and through mechanisms of incorporation which are not based on legal categories and administrative practices, but on social relationships of friendship, patronage and hospitality.
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Landscapes have been shaped and reshaped by humans to meet the changing needs of shifting subsistence strategies and demographic patterns. In the Mediterranean region, a widespread subsistence strategy that has left a major imprint is... more
Landscapes have been shaped and reshaped by humans to meet the changing needs of shifting subsistence strategies and demographic patterns. In the Mediterranean region, a widespread subsistence strategy that has left a major imprint is pastoralism, often tied with transhumance. Pastoralism and the associated tensions between pastoralists and settled agriculturalists have political and legal dimensions which are sometimes overlooked in mainstream accounts of national “patrimony”. The rapid transformations of subsistence strategies witnessed in the twentieth century have changed pastoral landscapes in diverse ways. This paper focusses on the central Mediterranean archipelago of Malta to explore how the values and management of such landscapes require holistic assessment, taking into account the intangible practices and embedded legal rights and obligations that maintained these systems. While in Malta pastoralism has practically disappeared, its physical imprint persists in the form of a network of droveways, which was once a carefully regulated form of commons. Burgeoning demographic growth is erasing large tracts of the historic environment. Against this backdrop of contestation, this paper draws on interdisciplinary approaches to interrogate the shifting legal and historical narratives through which pastoral landscapes have been managed, in the process revealing how dominant epistemological and legal frameworks are also implicated in the erasure of these landscapes.