ACT No. I of 1987 AN ACT further /0 amend the Foreign Interferenu ACI, 1982 BE IT ENACfED by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives , in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

I assent.

AGATI-lA BARBARA

President

27th January. 1987

ACT No. I of 1987

AN ACT further /0 amend the Foreign Interferenu ACI, 1982

BE IT ENACfED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives , in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

I. l ltis Act may be cited as the Foreign Interference (Amend-

ment) Act, 1987, and shall be read a nd construed as one with the

Foreign Interference Act , 1982, hereinafter referred to as "the principal

Act".

Dan l-Att jista' jissejjah I·An ta' '·1987 1; jemenda '·At! dwar

lndhil Barrani , u ghandu jinqlra u jiftithem hap wahda ma' I-All la'

1-1982 dwar Indhil Barrani. hawnhekk itjed 'il quddiem imsejjah MI·AIt

M

prioopaJi

•

Minnok it-Tito1u ta' l-Att prinapalighandujidhoJ dan 1i gej

For the Title of the princi pal Act there shall be substituted

th e following

~ AN ACT to regulate the limitations on the political activilies

of aliens, and Ihis in accordance with Anicle 16 of the Convention

of Rome (1950) for the Protection of Human Rights and Funda-

mental Freedoms.".

J. For scction 2 o f the principal Act there shall be substiu.lIed

the following:-

In this Act, unless the conte~t otherwise requires -

"2.

"'alien" where it refe rs to an individual means a person

who is not a citizen of Malta; where it refers to a bod~ of

persons, in whatever manner constituted j uri d icall~, means

an y such body of persons directly o r indirectly oolllrolled by

persons who are not citizens of Malta, and includes any State

or Government; and where it refers to a broadcast means any

such broadcast transmitted from a station or installation

situate outside the territory of Malta and which is not au-

thorised by th e Broadcasting Authority;

"broadcast" mealls broadcast by wireless te legraphy o r

wire or both, and includes both sound and television broad-

cast;

"Broadcasting Authority" means the Broadcasting Au-

thority established by section 118 of the Constitution;

~intermcdiary agent" means any person or group of per-

sons who, irrespective of the proclaimed objectives, is in-

volved in political activity, and includes any citizen of Malta

resident outside Malta who so acts;

"Malta" has the meaning assigned to it in section 124 of

the Constitution;

"Monitoring Committee" means the Committee estab-

lished under this Act;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for foreign

affairs;

"person" includes any political party, and any political

or other organisation, institution or body whatsoever;

"political" where it does not refer to a party, person,

club or similar institution is restricted in meaning to mallers

connected with the elections in Malta , orwhich maybe reason-

ably deemed to influence such elections, and matters oon-

nected with the internal or foreign affairs of Malta;

"programme" includes an advertisement,",

Minflo !; ]-an ikolu 2 la' .I-All lJrioopali ghandu jidl'lol dan li

M2. F'dan I-All, kemm-il darba r-rabla lal-kliem ma lel'lliegx

lort'ohra -

Matent i ntennedja riu~ tfisser kul! pc:rsuna jew grupp ta'

PC:l'lluni iU; , minkejja I-ghanij iet mislqarra lagl'lhom, ikun u

inV(lluti raltiviti poIilika, u linkludi kul! a tladin ta' Malta li

jkun residenti barn minn Malta li jagixri b'dan il-mod;

M Awtorit~ tax-Xandir" tfisser I-Awtoriti w-Xandir im-

waqqfa bl-artikolu 118 ral-K OSlitu ujo ni

Mbarrani" mela tineferi ghal individw u tfisser persu na It

ma tkum: alladin ta ' Malta; meta tineferi ghal ghaqda ta'

pel'lluni , jkun Hema jkun il-mod ta' koslinrzzjoni ~uridika ,

tfisser kul! gl'laqda la' peTliuni bhal din Ii Ikun diretlamenl

jew indiretlament kontrollata mi nn pc:l'lluni Ii ma jkunw: al-

ladini ta' Malta, LI tinldudi kull Statjew Gvern ; LI me ta tirrertri

ghal xandira tfissc r kuU xandira bl'lal di D inuandra minn

stazzjon Je w stallaxzjoni li jkunu jinsabu barra mit· territorju

la' Malt a u li rna tkunx IIwtorizzata mill-A wtorill tax-Xandir ;

" Kumilal ta' Konl rolJ" tfisscr il-Ku mitat imwaqqaf lal'tt

da n I-All ;

~ M al ta~ ghandha I-lifsi ra mog.tllija Iilha n·artiko lu 124

tal -Kostituzzjoni;

HMinistru" IflSSer il·M inist ru responsabbli ghall-affarijict

barranin;

"persuna" tinkJudi kull panjl poliliku, u kulJ organiz-

=joni polit ika Jew lIon'ohra. istit uzzjoni jew ghaqdllli tkun;

" politiku ~ {e; n ma lirrlfe rix glial paThl. persuna, katin

Jew istituzzjoni simili ghlllldha lifsira rislretla 81'1al materji

kannessi ma' l-elezzjonij iet fMalta, jew Ii jistgl'lu ragonevol·

menl jitqiesu li jin nuwen~aw dawn 1-eleujonijiel, 1,1 malerji

Ir.onne$si ma' I-affarijiel ;ntemi Jew barrani n la' Malla ;

~ programm H tinlr.ll,ldi re lr.lam;

"xandira" lfisser xandira b' lelegrafija minghaj r fili Jew

biI-fili Jew bit-toejn, u tinkl udi xaudira kemm la ' smiegh kif

ukoll ta' teleYitjon; ,~,

For section 3 of the principal Act there shall be substituted 5ubstitutioo of

.. ctioo 3 0/ tbe

the following

pri!>cipal Act

3. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, it shall

not be lawful for an alien to perform, do , hold, tak e part in,

aid or ahet, or allow , any restricted activity in Malta.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, "a restricted ac-

tivity" means -

(a) any activity, or participation in any activity,

of a political nature or having a political purpose at any

time during the period commencing nine months prior

\0 the date on which Parliament would , unle5s sooner

dissolved. stand dissolved by virtue of subsection (2) of

section 76 of the Constitution and the date of the pub-

lication of the resul ts of an election, or at any time

between the dissolution of Parliament according to sub-

section (I) of section 76 orthe Constitution and the date

of the publication of the results of an election,

(b) the provision al any lime to or for the benefit

of a political party, person, club or si milar institution,

whether directly or through an intermediary agent, of

any money, equipment or other material, by way of gift

or otherwise 1I0t agaillst equivalent valuable considera-

tion, excluding books and other publications intended

for sale or distribution 1I0t exclusively or mainly for

Malta. unless such provision is authorised bv the

Monitoring Committee in accordance with this Act

Provided Ihat nothing in tbis subsection shall be

deemed \0 include anything which, taking into account

the value and any other circumsta nces, may be reason-

ably considered as a bona fide gift of no political

significance.

(3) An activity as defined in paragraph (a) of sub-

sel::\ion (2) of this section shall not be a restricted activity at

any time ot her than that mentioned in the same paragraph.

provided that the person intending to hold or organising such

an activity notifies in writing five days in advance the Secret-

ary of tile Monitoring Committee cstablished under this ACI ,

but the Secretary may in urgent cases accept, in his discretion,

notification at a shorter notice.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed as

affecting 1I0rmal diplomatic activities.

(5) Nothillg in this section shall apply to any activ-

ity organised by an international organisation of which the

State of Mal ta is a member, subject however to the condition

tha t if it is a pol itical activity, this is not organised by a

particular political group within any such organisation.".

In section 4 of the principal Act, in subsection (1) thereof,

for the words "Where a programme" there shall be substituted the

words "Where an alien programme of a political nature".

Section 5 of the principal Act shall be ame nded as follows

(a) in subsection (I) thcreof, for th e words ~Any person

acting in contravention of any provisions of the foregoing sections

of this Act" the re shall be substituted the words" Any alien, and

any o ther person who aids or abets any such alien , and any inter-

mediary agent, acting in contravention of, or failing to comply

wi th, any of the provisions of the foregoing sections of this Act,

or who does anything which is not lawful thereunder~ ;

(b) in subsectio n (2) thereof, for the words '-foreign activity"

there sha ll be substitu ted the words "restricted activity"; and

(c) immediately afte r subsection (2) thereof there shall be

inserted the following new subsection (3)

"(3) Fo r the purposes of section 56 of the Constitution

"foreign interference" means any offence against any of the

loreg01llg provisions of this Act

Provided that in the case of an alien broadcast, no such

foreign interference shall be deemed to subsist if the person

or the political party, in whose favour or to whose benefit

such a broadcast is made or intended to be made , proves that

he, or the political party, as the case may be, did not make

such broadcast or in any way aid or abet prior to, during, or

after the transmission , any person in such broadcast.".

7, For section 6 of the principal Act the re shall be substituted

the following

"MOOIitorinI

6, (I) For the purposes of section 3 ofthis Act, there

Comm;u«· shall be a Committee, to be known as the "Moni toring Com-

mittee~, which shall consist of the Minister, and two members

who shall be members of Parliament and of whom one shall

be designated by the Prime Minister and the other by the

Leader of the Opposition.

(2) Such designated members shall remai n mem-

bers of the Committee notwithstanding that Parliament may

stand dissolved, and this until new members are appointed

in their stead.

(3) The Clerk of the House of Representatives

shall be th e Se<::retary of the Committee.

(4) The Committee shall have the functions as-

signed to it by this Act.

(5) The Committee shall not authorise the receipt

of any money , equipment or other material by any political

party unless it is appropriately balanced by similar or equiva-

lent contribution to the other poli tical parties, taking into

account the sile of their represen tation in Parliament, and

th e decision shall be taken by a unanimous vote.

(6) The Commi ttee may act notwithstandi ng any

vacancy in its membership, but shall not act unless there are

at least two me mbers in office and at least two me mbers are

present al th e meeting at which th e decision is taken.

(7) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this sec-

tion the Committee may regulate its own procedure.

(8) The Minister shall by not later than the first

sitting of Parliament after the 15th Jan uary of each year lay

on th e Table of the House a report showing every authorisa-

tion given by the Monitoring Committee in accordance with

the provisions of this Act during the preceding year.".

Minflok ]-artikolu 618' ]· An prinCi pali ghandu jidhol dan li gej

·1tIomiuo, ... ·

6. (I) Gball-finijict ta' I-anikolu 3 ta' dan I-Atl,

ghandu jitwaqqaf Kumitat , I; jkun maghrufbhala I_W Kumitat

ta ' Kontroll~ ,Ii jkun maghmul mit1-MinBIrU , u iewg membri

li ghandhom ikunu membri tal-Parlament u Li wiebed min-

nhom ikun nominal mill· Prim Min islru u I-iehor mill-Kap

ta ' l-Oppotiujoni.

(2) Dawk il·membri hekk nominati gflandhom

jibqghu membri lal -KumitBI minkejja I; I-Parlamen l jista'

jkun gic xolt. u dan sakcmm jinhatru membri godda min-

ftakom .

(3) L-l5kriv8n tal-Kamra tad-Deputati ghandu

jkun is-$egrctarju tal- Kumitat.

(4) Il· Kumitat

ghandu

jkollu

l-funtjonijiet

moghtija mu b'don I-Atl.

(5) ll-Kumitat ma gbandux jawtorizza li jigu

ri~vuti

xi 1l11ll, lagl'tmi r jcw materjol ichor minn xi parti!

politiku hlier jekk dawn ikunu bilangati b'mod sew b' kon-

tribuujoni simili jcw ekwivalenti liIl-partiti politiCi l-ohrajn,

mela wic!\cd iqis id·daqs la' rappreientanz.a tagbhom fil-Par-

lament , u d-detitjoni ghandha tittiehed b'vot unanimu ,

(6) JI-Kumitat jista' jagixxi minkejja kull vakam;a

fost il -membri tiegl'lu, itda ma ghandux jagixxi sakcmm ma

jkunx ncmm miU·anqas iewg membri li jiommu I-kariga u

mill-anqas tewg membri jkunu preieoti waqt il-Iaqgl'ta li

matulha tiniehed irl-detiijoni,

(7) Bla hsara ghad-dispofuzjonijict la ' dan I-ar·

tikolu imsc mmija qabel il· Kumitat jista' jirregola I-proterlura

tieghu Sless,

(8) Il,Ministru ghandu mhux akta r lard mill -

c wwe l sedula tal-Parlament wOf3I -hmistax ta' Jannar ta ' kull

sena jpoggi fuq il-Mejda tal-Kamra rapport li fih juri kull

~wto ri7.za1.zjoni moghtija mill- Kumi tat ta ' Kontroll skond id·

di spotizzjoniji et ta' dOll I-An mat ul iBena prctedentL ",

L-anikolu 7 ta' I-All prinCipali gliandu jig; emendat kif gej

(a)

il -paragrafu (a) tiegl'lu gl'Iandu jig; mhassar;

(b) il -paragrafi (b) u (t ) tieghu gI'Iandhom jigu indikati mi ll,

gdid bl-illri (a) u ( b) rispellivamenl,

.-

Section 7 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a)

paragraph (a) thereof shall be deleted;

(b) paragraphs (b) and (c) thereof shall be re-lettered (a)

and (b) respectively.

The Foreign A~ivity Regulations 1982 arc hereby re-

(1)

Reptal.

LoN. ~2 of 1982.

pealed.

(2) Any pending judicial proceedings under orin connection

with any provision of the principal Act which has been repealed or

substilllled by th is Act shall be considered as withdrawn.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 435 of the 26th January.

1987. PAULXUEREB

Speaker

p, M USCAT TI;RRIB ILE

Acting Clerk IQ rlu House of RepffSentatiVf!S

KMti/;.

Kut~j .

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Ippubblika. mOd·o;p.r,im<nt .. 'I-Iofurma:zzjon;

PriIwd .. 110< Go .. """" .. ~"...,

MitbuJh n·l.....,pe,;j. ,oJ.Qvern

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