ACT No. XIV or 1990 AN ACT IQ amend rhe (;ieh ;r-RepubbUka ACI, /975 BE IT ENACTED by the President , by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament as-

I a$Cnt.

CENSU T AUOf'lE

(L.S.)

Preside nt

6th April , 1990

ACT No. XIV or 1990

AN ACT IQ amend rhe (;ieh ;r-RepubbUka ACI, /975

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

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament as-

se mbled , and by the al,lIhority of the same, as fo[]ows : -

This Act may be cited as the Cieh ir-Repubblika (Amend- Sbon ti ....

ment) Act, 1990. and shall be read and construed as one wi th the Cieh

ir-Repubblika Act. 1975, hercinaher referred to as Hlhe principal Act". .......lCXIX

.... . ,

afl97S

In subsection (1) of section 30fthe principal Act for the words Am ....... ."

"the Cabinet" the re shall be substitu ted the words "the Prime Mini s-

ter" .

....

pri nrijlOl ..... .

"' ... _n, of

. ,

Section 5 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a ) the present provision shall be renumbered as subsection principoJ ..... ,

(I) thereof; and

(b) immediately aher subsection (1) thereof as renumbe red.

the re shall be added the following subsection

"(2) The Headof the Xirka shall beentitled 10 wear H a

decora tion the insignia of the Xirka prescribed in the rules

made under this Act. ".

4_ ( I) Seetions 6 and 7 of th e principal Act shall be repealed.

(2)

Part lTl of the principal ACI shall be repealed.

(3) Pan IV of the principal Act shall be renumbered as Part

V thereof and sc:cIions 19 and 20 of the principal Act , therein con-

tained . shall be renumbered as se<:1iol15 28 and 29 thereof respectively.

Pan 11 o rlhl': principal Act shall be renumbered as

(b) the li lle: o f Pan III of the principal Act as renum-

bered sha ll be substituted by the following

" Medalsof the Republic";

(c) sectio n 13 o f the principal Act shall be deleted; a nd

(d) sections 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 o hhe pri nci pal A ct shall

be ren umbe red as sections 10, 11 , 12, 13 and 14 respectively.

( I)

L-anikoli 6u 7 11' I-An prinCipali ghandhom jitllaMTU ,

(2)

It-Taqsima III ta' I-All printipali gl'I andha tithassar.

(3) It -Taqsima IV la' I-An pri nt ipali ghandha ligi cnllme rall

mill-gdid bhala t-Taqsima Y' tiegh ll , 11 I-anikoli 19 u 20 la ' I-All

printipali. li jiusabu fdik it-Taqsima, gI'Iandhom jigu cn umcrati mill-

gdid bhala I-an ikoli 28 u 29taghha rispetlivamcnl.

(4) (0) It-Taqsima 11 ta' I-A ll prinCipali ghandha tigi

enu mcrata miU·gdid bl'laJa t-Taqsim a IIIticghu;

It-Tilolu tat-Taqsi ma III ID' I-An princi pa~ kif

(b)

enumerata milJ·gdid gha ndu jigi SQSlilwil b'dan 1i gej

MMidalji ta r-Repubbl ika";

(':)

L-anikolu 13 la ' I· A It pri ntipali gbandu jithassar; u

(d)

L-artikolj 8, 9, 10, 1I u 12 la' I-All prinCipal;

glIand hom jigu enume rati mill-gdid bl'lala I-an ikol; 10, 11 , 12, 13 u

14 rispettivament.

Im mediately after secti on 5 of the pri nci pal Act there shall be

inserted t he following

"PART H

The National Order of Merit

!:t"' .... of 6. ( 1) There shall be, and is he re by instituted, a na-

om.-::'' ' ' donal order o f merit to be known as The National Orde r of

Meri t. hereinafter refe rred to as the O rde r.

(2) TIle mOIlO a r lne OrdershaJl be "virluU tlcon-

Jfllnlin" .

(I) Ghandu j lwn hcmm u qed titwaqqaf b'dan 1-

Alt, ordlli nazzjonali ta' meritu li Ikun maghrufa bhala I·

Ordni Naujonali tal-Meritu, hawnhekk 'tjed 'il q llddiem

imsejl'la I-Ordni.

ta'

I·Ordni

jkllO

(2 )

I I'mQI/Q

" Vir/u/e

e/

Cons/antw".

(I) The Order shall consist of members whom the

President, on the wri n en advice o f the Prime Minister, shall

from lime to time appoint, in accordance wi th and subject 10

the provisions of this Act.

(2) Only Maltese citizens shal] beel igible to be ap-

pointed as members of the Order.

(3) Honorary mem bership of the Order may be

conferred on foreign nationals who have distinguished them ·

sel ves by t heir service in the promotion and fosteri ng of in leT-

national relations or who have earned the Te5pc<:t and

gratitude of t he people o f the Maltese Islands.

(4) References to membership or honorary memo

bershi p shall include all the grades of membership li sted in

section 8 of this Act.

(1) The O rde r shall consist of four grades of memo

bership: Companions of Honour, Compan ions , Officers and

o rdinary members.

(2) The numbe r of mem~ in each grade of the

Order shall be as follo~

( a) nOI more Ihan Ihree persons a\ any I:DC time

shall be Companions of Honourof the Order

J' rovidcd that, in determining the number of mem-

bers in th is grade, no account shall be taken of such mem-

bers who hold o r have he ld th e Office of President o f

Mal ta or of Prim e Minister;

(b) not more than twelve persons at anyone time

shall be Compan ions o f the Order

Provided that not more than four members of this

grade shall be appoin ted in 1990 and not more than two

persons in e ach year thereafter

(c) not mo re than twenty per!;(ms at anyone time

shall be Officers of the O rder

Provided tha t not more than seven members of this

grade shall be appointed in 1990, and not more than

three persons in eaeh year thereaftcr;

(d) not more than one hundred pen;oru; at anyone

time shall be ordinary members of the Order

Provided that not more than twe nty membersoflfm

grade shall be appointed in 1990, and not more than ten

persons in each year thereafter.

(3) Where the total number ofme mbenin a grade

has been appointed , additional members shal l be appointed

to that grade when a vacancy occurs.

(4)

Appointments shall have effect on Republic

(S) The provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4)

o f this section shall I'IOt apply to appointme nts of honorary

members.

(6) The President of Mal ta and the Prime Ministe r

shall by virtue o f their o ffices be Companions of Honour of

the O rde r. All former Presidents o f Malta and all forme r

Prime Ministers shall be Compa nio ns of Honour of the

( I) A mem be r o r honorary member of the Order

:;:t~c::: shall ee entitled to wear such insignia of the Order as pre-

. scribed for his or her gmde in the rules made under this Act.

(2) Members of the Order shall be entitled to

place the following lellers after their names on all occasions

where the use o f sueh tetters is custom ary -

(a)

Com panion of Ho nour: K.U.O.M.;

(b) Companio n: K.O.M.;

(c)

Office r: U.O. M.

(d)

Me mber: M.O.M ," .

6. In subsection (1) of section 10 of the principal Act. as renum -

bered, and in subsection (1) of section 11 o f the principal Act as renum-

be red. for the words "the Cabinet'" wherever they occur, there shall be

substituted the words "the Prime Mini~ter'".

7. Section 12 of the principal Act , as renumbered. shall be

amended as follows

(a) for the words "three Maltese citizens in 1975'" in parag-

raph (a) of subsection (1) thereof there shall be substituted the

words "twenty Mallese citizens in 1990";

(b) for the words "two Maltese citizens" in paragraph (b) of

subsection (1) thereof, there shall be substituted the words "ten

Maltese citizens"'; and

(c) for the word "thirty" wherever it occurs in subsection (2)

thereof, there shall be substituted the words "one hundred" .

8. Immediately after section 14 of the principal Act , as renum-

bered, there shall be inserted the following

(1) The Presiden t, acting on the advice of the

"",,,,,,,,,ive Prime Minister, may cause the striking of medals to mark an

event, or the anniversary of an event, of national importance.

(2) National Commemorative Medals shall be

awarded by the President, acting on the advice of the Prime

Minister, to Maltese citizens who are worthy of the honour.

(3) No more than two national events shall be

comm emorated hy the striking of medals in any period often

years, and such medals shall only be struck to mark the na-

tional event itself, its twenty-fifth, fiftieth or seventy-fifth an-

niversary or any of its centenaries or half centenaries.

(I) A Medal. to be known as Long and Efficient

Service Medal, hereinafter in this section called the medal

shall be awarded to qualifying members of disciplined forces

by the Ministers responsi ble therefor. After the award of the

medal, clasps may be given for additional qualifying service.

(2) Qualifying service for the medal and for clasps

shall be that laid down in the rules made under this Act.

(3) All members and former members of discip--

lined forces who have served. on an aggregate basis, for the

period stipulated in the rules made under this Act. a nd have

rendered efficient service throughout, shall be eligible to be

awarded the medal and clasp.

(4) For th e purpose of this section disciplined

forces mean -

the Armcd Forces of Malta ;

(a)

(b)

the Malt a Police Force; and

(e)

the Malta Prison Service.

A person to whom a National Commemorative

Medal o r a Long and Efficient Service Medal has been

awarded, shall be en titled 10 wear the medal in accordance

wilh the rules made under Ihis ACI .

PARTlV

and III

Pro~·i.!ilons applkalM to Parts I, 11

N"""...u.-

(1)

There shall be a Nominations Committ ee,

:.~ bercina h er refe rred 10 as IIle Committ ee, appointed by the

Prime Minister , for such te rm and under sueh conditions as

Xitto ....... the Prime Minister may detenn ine, 10 propose candidate5 for

~ ..... dmembership of the Xi,kD , tbe Order and for tbe award of

of-!.~ medals; the Secretary to the Cabinet shall be the Chainnan of

this Commillee.

(2) In proposing candidates to the Prime Minister,

the Committee shall ensure that a nomination meets the

criteria for admission to the membership o f the X i,kCl or the

Order, or fo r the award o f a medal as the case may be, and,

for this purpose . the Committee shall have power to regulat e

its own procedure.

(I) The President of Malta shall be the Head o f

the Xi,ka and of the Orde r.

(2) The Secrel8ry to the Cabinet shall be the

Chancellor of Ihe Xi,ka and of the O rde r.

(3) The President may, on the advice of the Pri me

Minister. appoin t such othe r officials of the Xirka and of the

Order as may be considered necessary.

(4) A person shall not be conside red a me mbc: r o f

the X irka or of the Orde r by reason only of hi s bei ng an

official o f Ihe X irka or of the Order.

Appointments as member Of honorary member of

th e Xi,lctl or of the Order shall be made by an official

instrument signed by the Head of the Xirlea o r tne Order,

under the aut hority of the Prim e Ministe r, and sealed wi th the

&01 of the Xirlea or of the Order, as the case may be.

21 . The Chancellor o f the XirkQ and of the Order shall

udoflbo: keep registers showing the names o f the members and

honorary members o f the X /Tlea and of the Order, and such

o the r records relating to members hip of the Order as may be

prescri bed in rules made under this Act , and shall perform

such Other functions in respect thereof as the Head of the

Xirlea or of the Order may requi re him to perform or as may

be prescribed by the Act or any rules made thereunder.

I1-Kant illier tax-Xirka uta' I-O rdni ghand hom

iiommu registri li jkunu juru l-ismijiel t3'l-imse hbin 11 ta ' 1-

imschbin onorarji tax-Xirka uta' l-Ordni. u dawk id·

dokumenti kollha 1i jkollhom x'jaqsmu mas'5l'1ubija n·Ordni

hd:k kif ji51a' jigi preskriu rregolamend Ii jsiru skond dan 1-

An , u gha ndhom iwettqu dawk iJ-funzjonijiet l·ohrajn kollha

dwar ix-Xirka jew 1·0rdlli hekk kif i1-Kap tax· Xirka jew ta' ].

Ordni jisla ' jehtieg li jilwcllqu jew he kk kif jista' jip presk rill

b'dan I-All jew b'x; regoli li js.iru bis-sahha lieghu.

The appointment and promot ion of members and

honorary members of the Xirka and of the Order and the

awa rd o f medals under the provi sion~ of this Act shall be

notified in th e Gaze{!e.

( I) A pel"$(ln shall cease to be a member of the

X irka orofthe Order. orto be: the holder of a medal awarded

under this Act upon

(a)

his or her death

(b) his or her resi gnation from the X irka Of the

Order. except in the case of those persons who are

members in virtue of an office they hold or have held. Of

by the ret urn of the medal . Thecessation shall take effect

from the date on wh ich the resignation from the Xir/(t:I o r

the Order is rece ived by the Chancellor of the X irka or

the Order. or the medal is returned to the Secretary to

the Cabinet

(c) if such pel"$(ln has bee n guilty o f such conduct

as makes him unworthy of contin uing to be a me mbe r of

the Order or of the X irka or the holder of a medal , and

the appointment is tenninated Of the award of the medal

is revo ked by th e President acting on a resolution of the

House of Representatives in accordance with such

procedures as may be prescribe d by rules made under

thi s Act.

(2) Tennination of me mbership in tenn s of

paragraphs (b) and. (c) of subsection ( I) o f this section shall be

notified in the Gazette.

( I) Wh ere a pel"$(ln ceases. ot hu than by death .

to be a member o f the X i,kIJ Of the Order, orto be the holder

of a medal, he shall forthwith return to the Chancellor of the

X i,kIJ or the Orde r the in signia of the Xirlw or the O rder that

WIl5 awarded to him or her; th e medal shall be returned to the

Secreta ry to the Cabin et.

(2) Upon promotion to a higher grade. a member

of the Order shall retu rn 10 the Registrar the insignia of the

grade to which he be longed before promotion.

(3) The holder of a medal shall nOl be required to

return the medal on his admission to membership of the Xirka

or the Order.

(1 ) No appointment to the X irku or to the O rder

and no termin ation of any such appointment shall be valid

unless sealed with the seal of the Xirka or the Order as the

case maybe.

(2) Th e Seals of the Xirka an d o f the Order shall

be kept in the custody of the President.

The President may from time to time, on th e advice

mokONIe>.

of the Prime Minister. make rules -

(a) prescribing an yth ing which u nder the

foregoing provisions of this ACI may be o r is required to

be prescribed;

(b) respe<::ting the design. form and content of the

insign ia and medals and the protocol of wearing such

insignia and medals;

respecting the formalities of investitu re and

(c)

award ;

(d) making any other ancillary provision which

may be required or deemed expedient in orde r to give

better effect to any of the provisions of this Act.

\J ... t_d

Any person who makes use of the insignia of the

Xirka or of the Order or of a medal established in or under

tbeXirka. this Act. without being entitled the reto in accordance with

Order. etc. the foregoing provisions of th is Act, or who places or causes

to be placed after hi s name any lellers ind icating or

purporting to indicate membership of the Xirka or of the

Order or th e holdingofa medal under this Act. without being

entitled thereto in accordance with the foregoing provisions

of this Act, shall be guilt y of an offence and shall on

conviction be liable to a fine (mu/la) of not less th an one

hundred liri and not exceed ing five hundred liri. ".

9. In subsection (I) of sect ion 29 of the principal Act. as

renu mbered, for the words "the Cabinet'· there shall be substitutcd the "",""",19

words "the Prime Minister".

Passed by the House of Represelltatives at Sitting No. 360 of the 28th March, 1990.

L AWRENCE GON l-J

Speaker

P . MUSCAT TERRIB Il.E

Clerk /0 the House of RepreUrlIalivf!/