ACT No. X or 1996 AN ACT to amend the Press Act, Cap. 248 BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the House of Representatives, in thi s present Parliament assembled, and by the authori ty of the same, as follows:-

(LS.)

Ugo MIFSUD BONNIC!

President

29th March, 1996

ACT No. X or 1996

AN ACT to amend the Press Act, Cap. 248

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

consent of the House of Representatives, in thi s present Parliament

assembled, and by the authori ty of the same, as follows:-

I. This Act may be ci ted as the Press (Amendment) Act , 1996,

and shal1 be read and construed as one with the Press Act, hereinafter

referred to as "the pri nci pru law".

In section 2 of the principal law

(a) the definition of "broadcast" shall be deleted and substituted

by the following

.. "broadcast" means the trans mission by wire or over the air.

including that by satellite, in encoded or unencoded fonn of words or

of visual images, whether ornot such words orimagtS are in fact received

by any person;"

in the definition of "editor" ,lIle word "newspaper" shall

(b)

be replaced by the words " newspaper or broadcasting service";

(c)

the definition of "prin ter" shall be deleted; and

(d) after the definition of "printed matter" there shall be

added the following new definition

.. "publisher" means a person who owns an enterprise

publishing a newspaper or who holds a broadcasting licence

and includes any person who owns facilities for the production

or reproduction of any printed matter;".

Sections 5 and 6 of the principal law shall be renumbered

(a)

=~~II~~ as subsections (1) and (2) of section 5 respectively .

(b)

Immediately after subsection (2) of section 5 as amended

there shall be inserted the following new section 6

Whosoever, by any means mentioned in section 3

"Rocl"" and

of this Ac t , shall threaten, insult, or e xpose to hatred,

persecut ion oroontempt.a person or group of persons because

of their race, creed. colour. national ity, or national or eth nic

origin shall be liableon conviction to imprisonment for a tenn

not exceeding three months and to a fine (mulla).".

4 . In section 8 of the principaJlaw the words "not exceeding two

hundred liri" shall be dcletcd.

5 . In paragraph (a) of section I I of the principal law. the words

"not exceeding twO hundred liri" shall be deleted.

6. Immediately after section 12 of the principal law there shall

be added the following new section 12A

In proceedings instituted under th is Act it

shall be a defence for the editor or the publisher to prove that

the information published consisted of an accurate report of

a speech made at an important public event by an identified

person who knew orcould have reasonably known orexpecled

that th e content of that speech was to be published in a

newspaper or in a broadcasting medium and that the

publication of the said speech was reasonably justifiable in a

democratic society.".

7. In section 14 nfthe principal law

Aa ... d" ....... of

...,. ... 14 of ....

prilloCipol ......

in paragraph (a) thereof the words "not exceeding three

(i)

hundred liri" shall be deleted; and

in paragraph (b) thereof the words "not exceeding two

(ii)

hundred Iiri" shall be deleted.

8. In subsection (2) of section 20 of the principal law for the "'~_ .. of

words "two hundred liri" there shall be substituted the words "five ;:",,7pal~,~,1ho

hundred liri".

Section 21 of the principal law shall be amended as follows: _

9. "' ... odi ...... al

pnncipol Jaoor.

(i) the marginal note to the said section shall be substituted

by the words " Right of rep\y .";

(ii) in s ubsection (1) thereof, after the word

"misrepresented" in the first paragraph thereo f there shall be added

the words "or who has been subjected to an attack on his honour,

digni ty or reputation, or 10 an intrusion into his private life by

means of or";

(iii) su bsection (2) of the said section shall be substituted

by the following

'"(2) In the case of a newspaper, a reply in tenns of

subsection ( I) of this section shall be published as a separate

article and without being interpolated with any comments or

other material thaI does nOI form pan of tile reply , wilh equal

prominence as the publication in respec t of which the ri gh t of

re ply is exercised and it shall not be lawful to shorten or edit

the reply in such a manncr as to prejudice the effective exercise

of the righ t of reply under this section. The said statemen t

shall be published not later than the second issue o f the

newspaper following the receipt of the request

Provided that when the right of reply is availed of in

respect o f a publication in a newspaper published at in tervals

of at least one week , th e said statement shall be published in

the issue immediately following the rece ipt of the re quest if

such request is rece ived at least fou r days before the

publication of the said issue and not later than th e second

issue following the receipt of the request in all other cases.";

(IV) in subsection (3) of the said section for the words "a

statement by way of contradiction or explanation" there shalt be

substituted the words "a statement in lemu of subsection ( I) of

this section" ;

(v) in subsection (4) of the said section for the words "fine

(multa)" there shall be substituted the words " fine (multa) of a

minimum of two hundred liri and in the case of such conviction

the coun shall in its judgement make such orders upon the party

convicted as it deems appropriate as to ensure respect o f the righ t

of reply granted by this section. In defauil of compliance with any

such order the party convtcted shall be liable to pay the com plainant

a penalty nO( exceeding five hundred liri which shall beenforceable

by the same coun";

(vi) subsection (6) of the said section shall be subst ituted

by the following

"(6) This seclion shall not apply IQ any publication

mentioned in section 33 of this Act in cases where no action

lies under that section in respect of such publication ."; and

(vii) afle r subsection (6) of thc said section there shall be

added the following new su bsection (7)

"(7) The right of reply under Ihis section shall lapse if

the person demanding such right shall not have claimed it

within one month from the date of the publication of the

newspaper or of the broadcast in respect of which the said

righl may be excrcised.".

10. In seclion 22 of the principal law the words from "shall

apply;" unlil the end of the section shall be substituted by the words

"shall apply".

11. Section 23 of the principal law shall be substituted by the

following

23 . Criminal proceedings for any offence under Part

~

II and civil proceedings under Part III of this Act may be

insti tuted against each of the following persons

""'""'~

institul«l.

(a) the author, ifhe shall have composed the work

for the purpose of its being published. or ifhe shall have

consented thereto;

(b)

the edi tor;

or. if the said persons cannot be identified,

(c)

the publisher." .

12. Immediately after section 24 of lhe principal Jaw there shall .... dditioo ol

:-~2A""

be added the followi ng new section 24A

pn.:ipol .... .

L-azzjoni kriminali ghal I>i reat taht it-Taqsima

"""",uni Ii

koo'<a

II u l-azzjoni Civili taht it-Taqsima III ta' dan I-All {ista'

"'"-

tittiehed kontra kull wahda minn dawn il·persuni Ii gejjin

ji'"",,,. ,,,

:u:zjoniji<'.

(a) l-awtur tal-kitba. jekk huwa jkun kitibha

sabiex tigi ppubblikata,jew jekk ikun ta l-kunsens tieghu

ghal hekk;

(b)

l-editur;

jew, jekk dawk il-persuni rna jkunux jistghu jigu

identifikati,

(c)

ir-responsabbli ghall-pubblikazzjoni.".

Zi<d.o II'

12. Minnufih wara I-artikolu 24 tal-ligi prinCipali ghandu jiidied I_iloIu

I-artikolu 24A gdid kif gej

...... MiI

pri.eipoli .

.. -,

··P"I1~ .. li

The criminal and the civil actions mentioned in section

I 23 of this Act may also be instituted against any person who shall

have made a public speech in circumstances where he was aware

or could have reasonably been aware or have expected that the

content of his speech was going to be published in a newspaper or

a broadcasting medium and in fact is in whole or in pan so

published ....

,.

13. In subsection (2) of section 25 of the principal law

ooctioo,2joflho

prioripalb ...

(a) the words from '''and the printer" to the words " from

which it is made," shall be substituted by the words "and , where

applicable. the publisher"; and

(b) the words "contents thereof' shall be substituted by the

words "contents of the newspaper, broadcast or other printed

matter, as the case may be,",

14. In section 26 of the principal law for the words from "The Amol>lln><.tof

edi tor or printer of a newspaper" unti l th.e words " from wh.ich it is ;::;~~.".!,tbo

made,", inclusive, there shall be substituted the words "The persons

mentioned in section 23 of this Act ,",

15, In section 28 of the principal law ,in subsection (1) thereof, A _ o t

for the words ''two thousand liri" there shall be su bstituted the words ;::'!;~21 .. "..! ,""

"rive thousand liri" .

16, In section 29 of the principal law for the words "two thousand Am<ndmtno of

~ .. ,!,""

li ri" there shall be substituted the words "five thousand liri".

17. In section 30 of tne principal Jaw for the words ''two thousand " " " " ' - ' 0 (

:J' ..

liri" there shall be substituted the words " fi ve thousand liri",

18. Afler subsection (2) of sec tion 31 of the principal law there Amendment of

shall be added the following proviso

to<:tion 3) oftbo

pri..,ipal

"Provided that the provisions of paragraph (d) of section 374

of the Criminal Code shall not apply in respect of crim inal

proceedings instituted in tenns o f the foregoing provisions of th is

section ane r the complainant has con finned his complaint on oath

before the Court and the absence of the complainant from the court

at any stage of the proceedings shall nOl be deemed to constitute

the abandonment of the proceedings or the withdrawal of the

complaint if the said absence is subsequent to th e said confirmation

of the complaint on oath by the complainant.".

19. Section 33 of the principal law shall be amended as follows

(a) paragraph (b) the reof shall be substituted by the

following

"(b) publications consisting of communications

between public officers, or between such officers and

contractors of the public service or officials of public

corporations, reports of inquiries held in terms of any law. or

statements by public officers that are made in good faith in

the interests of national security, territorial integrity, public

safcty, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the

protection of health or morals;"; and

(b) paragraph (e) thereof shall be deleted and paragraphs

(d) and (e) shall be re- numbered as paragraphs (c) and (d)

respect ively .

20. In section 34 of the principal law the words "or print" shall

be deleted.

21. Subsection (I) of section 35 of the principal law shall be

amended as follows

(a) th e word "printer" shall be repl aced by the word

"publisher" wherever it appears in the text;

in subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) thereof after the

(b)

words "name and surname" there shall be inserted the words

" Identity Card number.";

(c) subparagraph 0) of paragraph (b) shall be substi tuted

by the followin g

"Ci)

if the publisher is an individual, his name,surname,

age. place of residence and Identity Card number;

(ii) if the publisher is a company or other association

of persons, its name, address, the particulars mentioned in

subparagraph (i) in respect of its judicial representative, and,

where applicable, its company or partnership registration

number;"; and

(d) subparagraphs Oi) and (iii) of paragraph (b) shall be

renumbered as subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) respectively.

22. In section 37 of the principal law for the words "twenty five ;'m,odm,"'

cents" there shall be substituted the words "one lira".

23. Section 38 of the principal law shall be deleted.

24. Section 41 of the principal law shall be substituted by the Subs';". i"" of

Itccioo 41 of the

following

principal I . .. .

·'41, The provisions of this Part shall not apply to any

periodical publication published by, or by order or leave of or for

the use of, the Government of Malta or any of its Ministries or

Departments or the House of Representatives.".

Part IV A of the principal law shall be substituted by the Suh"i'Ulim of

PortlY;' of'''''

following

principal 1.,..

"PART V

BROADCASTING SERVICES

Every holder of a broadcasting licence in Malta

::='~inl shall appoint a person having the qualifications listed in

section 34 to be the editor of, and be editorially responsible

for, the broadcasting service providerl in tenns of the said

licence.

The provisions of sections 35, 36, 38, 39 and 40 of

AppiOcability

this Act shall mutatis mutandis apply to editors of broadcasting

services and to broadcasting licencees as they apply to editors

of newspapers and to newspapers respectively.

Editors of broadcasting services shall have tbe same

duties and obligations under this Act as are by the same

imposed on erlitors of news papers.

45 . For the purpose of this Pan the tenn "broadcasting

licence" shall have the same meaning as is anributed to it in

1991. the Broadcasting Act, 1991." .

26. Part V of the principal law shall be deleted and substituted

by the following

"PART VI

JOURNALISTIC FREEDOMS

No Court shall require any person mentioned in

section 23 of this Act to disclose , nor shall such person be

guilty of contempt of court for refusing to disclose, the source

of infonnation contained in a newspaper or broadcast for

which he is responsible unless it is established to the

satisfaction of the Court that such disclosure is necessary in

the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public

safety, or for the prevention of disorder or crime or for thc

protection of the interests of justice

Provided that the Court shall not order such disclosure

unless it is also satisfied that in the particular circumstances

of the ease the need for investigation by the Court outweighs

the need o f the media to protect its sources, due regard being

taken of the importance of the role of the media in a democratic

society

Provided furth er that nmhing in this section shall be

interpreted as exem pting any person mentioned in section 23

of this Aet from provi ng the truth of any facts attributed by

him in tenns of section 12 of this Act.

-.

( I) The Government shall establish procedures

10 give representativesof lhe press the infonnation which helps

them fulfil their public tasks.

(2) Subsection ( I) of this section shall not apply

in the foll OWing cases

(a) where such information could fo il, impede.

delay or jeopardise the appropriate procelis of pending

legal proceedings o r where Government or another

public authority would be legally entitled to refuse to

grant such information In a co urt o r other tribunal

established by law;

where the granting of such information would

(b)

entail the disclosure of informalion received by

Government in confidence;

(e)

where such information would violate an

overriding public inleresl or a private interest warranting

protection;

(d)

where the information concerns matters

related to naliona1 securi ty or public safety;

(e) when the gathering of the information

requested would place a disproportionate burden on the

public administration.

(3)

It shall not be lawful for Government to issue

general instructions that prohibit the giving of information to

any newspaper or licensed broadcasti ng service holding a

particular view or to any speci fied newspaper or licensed

broadcasting service ....

27 . Sections 50, 5 1 and 52 of the principal law shall be Re. """""ri", of

ot>ttioM ~Uland

.-.

renumbered as sections 48 , 49 and 50 respectively.

'2 of tile princi~

28. Pan VI of the principal law shall be renumbered as PART R .. ~ of

P ... V l of~

priooc:i"low.

29. Section 53 of the principal law shall be deleted and substituted S-"';"of

.

_Slot"",

by the followmg

priaci"low.

(I) Every newspaper published in Malta shall

publish the name of its publisher and the date on which it was

printed.

(2) It shall be lawful for the Registrar to demand

and obtain information from any person concern ing the

ownership of a newspaper published in Malta or of acompany

or other association of persons that is or at any time was,

directl y or indirectl y, the owner of such a newspaper or with

regard to the transfer of shares or control of any such com pany .

(3) Informatio n demanded by the Registrar in

terms of su bsection (2) of th is section shall be given within

ten days of communication of the demand to the person from

whom the information is required, and shall be included by

the Regislrar in the register of newspapers.

(4) Whosoever shall contravene the provisions of

th is section shall on conviction be liable to a fine (multa).

In any proceedings before a Court, or before a

R<p.r.rto Tribunal or Board established by law, a certificate issued and

signed hy the Registrar showing who is or at any time was,

the editor or the publisher of a newspaper or a broadcasting

service shall constitute proof of its content unless the contrary

is proved.

The provisions ofthe Press Act as in force prior to

the coming inlO force of Ihe Press (Amendment) Act, 1996

shall continue 10 apply in respect of any civil or criminal

action, right of action, right or obligation relating to or arising

out of any publication made prior to the coming inlO force of

that Act

Provided thai the provisions ofthe proviso to subsection

(2) of section 31 ,of section 46 and of secti on 52 as introduced

by the Press (Amendment) Act, 1996 shall come into force

wilh immediate effect.".

Passed by Ihe House of Representatives at Sitting No. 524 of

the 251h March,1996.

L AWRENCE GONZI

Speaker

R ICHARD J . CAUCHI

Clerk to the House of Representatives.