Legal Department
The main function of the Central Bank of Malta's Legal Department is to provide legal advice on the various aspects of the Bank's functions and operations. Indeed, the Bank's in-house lawyers advise on diverse legal, contractual and operational matters, as well as on issues related to the Bank's governance structure. Another important function of the Legal Department relates to legislative process, particularly in amending and drafting domestic legislation in the field of financial services.
The Bank's regulatory compliance function was assigned to the Legal Department with effect from October 2016. Proper observance of the Bank's regulatory compliance policies is monitored by the Bank's in-house lawyers in order to contribute to the Bank's pursuit of its statutory tasks and objectives.
An important part of the work carried out by the Legal Department concerns the European Central Bank, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurosystem. The Bank's legal team actively participates in several ESCB committees and sub-committees, including the Legal Committee of the ESCB (LEGCO), the Financial Law Experts Group, and the Ethics Framework Task Force. LEGCO is the forum within which European lawyers from other national central banks discuss legal matters related to core Eurosystem areas, including provision of legal support and advice for the fulfilment of the statutory tasks of the ESCB and the supervisory tasks granted to the European Central Bank.
Furthermore, the Legal Department participates in a number of the Bank's committees, including the Management Committee, the Risk Committee and the ESCB Committee. The secretariat to the Bank's Executive Committee was assigned to Legal Department in 2018. Established by the Board of Directors of the Bank, the Executive Committee advises the Board and the Governors in the fulfilment of their responsibilities under the law.