ACT No. VII of 2008 AN ACT to amend the Refugees Act, Cap. 420.

I assent.

E DWARD F ENECH A DAMI

(L.S.)

President

29th July, 2008

ACT No. VII of 2008

AN ACT to amend the Refugees Act, Cap. 420.

BE IT ENACTED 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

The short title of this Act is the Refugees (Amendment) Short title.

Act, 2008, and this Act shall be read and construed as one with the

Refugees Act, hereinafter referred to as "the principal Act".

Article 2 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 2 of the

principal Act.

(a)

the definitions "applicant", "application", "asylum

seeker", "humanitarian protection" and "immigration officer"

shall be deleted;

(b) immediately

before

the

definition

"the

Commissioner" there shall be inserted the following new

definition

" "applicant for asylum" means a third country

national or stateless person who has made an application

for asylum in respect of which a final decision has not yet

been taken by the Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals

Board;";

(c) immediately after the new definition "applicant for

asylum" there shall be inserted the following new definition

" "application for asylum" means an application

made by a third country national or a stateless person

which can be understood as a request for international

protection under the Convention;";

(d) immediately after the new definition "application for

asylum" there shall be inserted the following definition

" "the Board” means the Refugee Appeals Board as

established by article 5;";

(e) immediately after the definition "Convention Travel

Document" there shall be inserted the following new definition

" "country of origin" means the country or

countries of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former

habitual residence;";

(f)

immediately after the definition "dependent

members of the family" there shall be inserted the following

new definition

" "determining authority" means the Refugee

Commissioner;";

(g) immediately after the new definition "determining

authority" there shall be inserted the following new definition

" "Directives" means Council Directive 2004/83/

EC of 29 April 2004 on minimum standards for the

qualification and status of third country nationals or

stateless persons as refugees or as persons who otherwise

need international protection and the content of the

protection granted and Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1

December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in

Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee

status;";

(h) immediately after the new definition "Directives"

there shall be inserted the following new definition

" "final decision” means a decision on whether the

third country national or stateless person be granted

refugee status or subsidiary protection status which is not

subject to appeal;";

(i)

immediately after the new definition "final decision"

there shall be inserted the following new definition

" "first country of asylum" means that country

where an applicant for asylum

(a) has been recognised in that country as a

refugee and he can still avail himself of that

protection; or

(b) he otherwise enjoys sufficient protection in

that country including benefiting from the principle

of non-refoulement and subject to re-admission to

that country;";

(j)

immediately after the definition "the High

Commissioner" there shall be inserted the following new

definition

" "legal adviser" means a person who

is authorised to practise the legal

profession in Malta in terms of the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure;";

(k) in the definition "manifestly unfounded application"

for the words "of these circumstances;" in paragraph (j) thereof,

there shall be substituted the words "of these circumstances; or",

and immediately after paragraph (j) thereof there shall be added

the following new paragraph

"(k) when the applicant for asylum comes from a

safe country of origin;";

(l)

for the definition "refugee" there shall be substituted

the following

" "refugee" means a third country national who,

owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for

reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a

particular social group or political opinion, is outside the

country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such

fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that

country; or who, not having a nationality and being outside

the country of his former habitual residence, as a result of

such events is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to

return to it, but does not include a person excluded in terms

of article 12

Provided that in the case where a person has more

than one nationality, the term "country", mentioned above,

shall refer to each country of which he is a national, and

such a person shall not be considered as not having the

protection of his country if, without any founded fear of

persecution, he has not sought the protection of one of the

countries of which such a person is a national

Provided further that

(a) acts of persecution within the meaning of

Article 1A of the Convention must be sufficiently

serious by their nature or repetition as to constitute a

severe violation of basic human rights, in particular

the right from which derogation cannot be made

under Article 15(2) of the European Convention for

the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental

Freedoms; or

(b) be an accumulation of various measures,

including violations of human rights, which is

sufficiently severe as to affect an individual in a

similar manner as in paragraph (a) above;";

(m) immediately after the definition "refugee" there

shall be inserted the following new definition

" "refugee status" means the recognition of a third

country national or stateless person as a refugee;";

(n) immediately after the definition "refugee status"

there shall be inserted the following new definition

" "remain" means to remain in the territory,

including at the border or in transit zones, of the Member

State in which the application for asylum has been made or

is being examined;";

(o) for the definition "safe country of origin" there shall

be substituted the following

" "safe country of origin" means a country of which

the applicant for asylum

(a)

is a national; or

(b) being a stateless person, was formerly

habitually resident in that country and he has not

submitted any serious grounds for considering the

country not to be a safe country of origin in his

particular circumstances;";

(p) for the definition "safe third country" there shall be

substituted the following

" "safe third country" means a country of which the

applicant is not a national or citizen and where -

(a) life and liberty are not threatened on

account of race, religion, nationality, membership of

a particular social group or political opinion;

(b) the principle of non-refoulement

in

accordance with the Convention is respected;

(c) the prohibition of removal, in violation of

the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman

or degrading treatment as laid down in international

law, is respected;

(d) the possibility exists to request refugee

status and, if found to be a refugee, to receive

protection in accordance with the Convention;

(e) the applicant had resided for a meaningful

period of time prior to his entry into Malta;";

(q) immediately after the definition "safe third country"

there shall be added the following new definition

" "serious harm" means

(a)

death penalty or execution; or

(b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment

or punishment of an applicant in the country of

origin; or

(c) serious and individual threat to a

civilian’s life or person by reason of

indiscriminate

violence

in

situations

of

international or internal armed conflict;";

(r)

immediately after the definition "serious harm"

there shall be added the following new definition

" "subsidiary protection status" means the

recognition of a third country national or a stateless person

as a person eligible for subsidiary protection under Part

IV;";

(s)

immediately after the new definition "subsidiary

protection status" there shall be added the following new

definition

" "unaccompanied minor" means a person below

the age of eighteen years who arrives in Malta

unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him whether

by law or by custom, for as long as he is not effectively

taken into the care of such a person and includes any

minor who is left unaccompanied after he has entered

Malta;";

(t)

immediately

after

the

new

definition

"unaccompanied minor" there shall be added the following new

definition

" "withdrawal of refugee status" means the decision

by a competent authority to revoke, end or refuse to

renew the refugee status of a person.".

For article 3 of the principal Act, there shall be substituted

the following

"3. This Act incorporates the obligations assumed by

Malta under the Convention and its obligations under the

Directives.".

In Part II of the principal Act for the headings

"Procedures" and "Title I - The Refugee Commissioner" there shall

be substituted the heading "Refugee Commissioner".

In Part II of the principal Act for the heading "Title II -

Refugee Appeals Board" there shall be substituted the headings "Part

III" and "Refugee Appeals Board".

Article 7 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows:-

(a) for subarticle (2) thereof there shall be substituted

the following

"(2) Appeals to the Board shall be made within

fifteen days from the notification on the applicant of the

recommendation of the Commissioner. Where the appeal is

entered by the applicant a copy of the appeal shall be

served on the Minister and the Commissioner. Where the

appeal is entered by the Minister a copy of the appeal shall

be served on the applicant and the Commissioner

Provided that the Appeals Board may assume that

the applicant has implicitly withdrawn his application of

appeal when it is ascertained that

(a) he has failed to provide information

essential to his appeal unless the applicant

demonstrates, within a reasonable time, that his

failure was due to circumstances beyond his control;

(b) he has abandoned or left without

authorization the place where he lived or was held,

without contacting the competent authorities within a

reasonable time or he has not, within thirty days,

complied with reporting duties or other obligations

to communicate.";

(b) in subarticle (7) thereof, for the words

"Notwithstanding the provisions of the previous sub-article, a

representative" there shall be substituted the words "A

representative";

(c) in subarticle (8) thereof, for the words "article

19(1)(b)” there shall be substituted the words "article 25(1)(b)";

(d) in subarticle (9) thereof, immediately after the

words "before any court of law" there shall be added the words

", saving the provisions of article 7A"; and

(e)

subarticle (11) thereof shall be deleted.

Immediately after article 7 of the principal Act, there shall Addition of new

article 7A to the

be added the following new article

principal Act.

(1) A person who has applied

"Subsequent

application

for asylum may make a subsequent

after final

decision.

application after a final decision to the

Commissioner for Refugees

Provided that such application shall only

be considered on the presentation of new

elements or findings, relating to the

examination of whether the person making

the subsequent application qualifies as a

refugee, and of which the applicant could not

have been aware or which he could not have

submitted.

(2) The

person

submitting

a

subsequent application shall

(a) indicate facts and provide

evidence which justify this procedure;

and

(b) submit

such

new

information within fifteen days from the

day on which the person making the

subsequent application obtained such

information.

(3) The examination may be conducted

on the sole basis of written submissions and

the person making the subsequent

application is to be informed of the outcome

of the examination and of his right for an

appeal.".

For Parts III, IV and V (and articles 8 to 18A therein) of

the principal Act, there shall be substituted the following

"Part IV

Refugee Status

and Subsidiary Protection Status

I - Refugee Status

8. (1) A person may apply to the

Qualification

for refugee

Commissioner, in the prescribed form, and

status.

shall be granted refugee protection, where it is

established that he faces a well-founded fear

of persecution in his country of origin or

habitual residence in terms of the Convention.

(2) A well-founded fear of persecution

may be based on events which have taken

place after applicant has left his country of

origin or activities engaged in by applicant

since leaving the country of origin, except

when based on circumstances which the

applicant has created by his own decision

since leaving the country of origin.

(3) If the Commissioner recommends

the acceptance of the application, the Minister

shall make a declaration that applicant is

eligible for refugee status, or appeal against

such recommendation.

(1) A person shall cease to

Cessation of

qualification

possess refugee status if he -

for refugee

status.

(a) has voluntarily re-availed

himself of the protection of the country

of his or her nationality, or, having lost

his nationality, has voluntarily re-

acquired it; or

(b) has

acquired

a

new

nationality and enjoys the protection of

the country of his new nationality; or

(c)

has

voluntarily

re-

established himself in the country which

he left or outside which he remained

owing to fear of persecution; or

(d) can no longer, because the

circumstances in connection with which

he has been recognised as a refugee

have ceased to exist, continue to refuse

to avail himself of the protection of the

country of his nationality; or

(e)

is a person who has no

nationality

and,

because

the

circumstances in connection with which

he has been recognised as a refugee

have ceased to exist, is able to return to

the country of his former habitual

residence

Provided that in paragraphs (d) and (e),

regard shall be had as to whether the change

of circumstances is of such a significant and

non-temporary nature that the refugee’s fear

of persecution can no longer be regarded as

well-founded.

(2) A person who is notified that he

has ceased to possess refugee status shall be

entitled to appeal against such decision to the

Board within fifteen days of such notification

and the provisions of article 7 shall mutatis

mutandis apply to such appeal. The decision

of the Board shall be final.

(1) The Minister shall revoke a

Revocation or

refusal to

declaration of refugee status if he is satisfied,

renew refugee

status.

after due investigation, that a person to whom

a declaration has been given has been

erroneously recognized as a refugee on an

application which contains any materially

incorrect or false information, or was so

recognized owing to fraud, forgery, false or

misleading representation of a material or

substantial nature in relation to the

application

Provided that he shall be informed in

writing that his qualification for refugee status

is being reconsidered, is given reasons for

such reconsideration and is given the

opportunity to submit, in a personal interview,

reasons as to why his refugee status should

not be withdrawn.

(2) The Minister may revoke or refuse

to renew the protection granted to a refugee

when

(a) there are reasonable grounds

for regarding him as a danger to the

security of Malta;

(b) having been convicted by a

final judgment of a particularly serious

crime, he constitutes a danger to the

community of Malta.

(3) A person, in whose regard the

Minister has revoked or refused to renew a

declaration under subarticles (1) or (2), shall

be entitled to appeal against the revocation to

the Board within seven days of the

notification of the revocation to him, and the

provisions of article 7 shall, mutatis mutandis,

apply to such appeal.

(1) The Minister may order the

Expulsion.

expulsion from Malta of any refugee or

persons granted subsidiary protection on

grounds of national security or public order,

and pending such expulsion such person shall

be held in custody.

(2) The provisions of article 7 shall,

mutatis mutandis, apply to expulsion orders

issued under this article.

(3) Any refugee to whom this article

applies shall be allowed a reasonable period

of time within which to seek legal admission

into another country.

(1) A third country national or a

Exclusion.

stateless person is excluded from being a

refugee if

(a)

he falls within the scope of

Article 1D of the Convention, relating to

protection or assistance from organs or

agencies of the United Nations other

than the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees. When such

protection or assistance has ceased for

any reason, without the position of such

persons being definitely settled in

accordance with the relevant resolutions

adopted by the General Assembly of the

United Nations, such persons shall ipso

facto be entitled to the benefits of this

Act; or

(b) he is recognised by the

competent authorities of the country in

which he has taken residence as having

the rights and obligations which are

attached to the possession of the

nationality of that country, or equivalent

rights and obligations.

(2) A third country national or a

stateless person is also excluded from being a

refugee where there are serious reasons for

considering that

(a) he has committed a crime

against peace, a war crime, or a crime

against humanity, as defined in the

international instruments drawn up to

make provision in respect of such

crimes; or

(b) he has committed a serious

non-political crime outside the country

of refuge, including particularly cruel

actions even if committed with an

allegedly political objective, prior to his

admission as a refugee; or

(c) he has been guilty of acts

contrary to the purposes and principles

of the United Nations as set out in the

Preamble and Articles 1 and 2 of the

Charter of the United Nations.

(3) Sub-article (2) applies to persons

who instigate or otherwise participate in the

commission of the crimes or acts mentioned

therein.

II - Non-refoulement, treatment, resettlement

and assistance

(1) A person seeking asylum in

Treatment.

Malta may apply to the Commissioner in

the prescribed form for a declaration and

shall be interviewed by the Commissioner

as soon as practicable.

(2) An applicant for asylum shall

have access to state education and training

in Malta and to receive state medical care

and services.

(3) Any child or young person below

the age of eighteen years falling within the

scope of this Act who is found under

circumstances which clearly indicate that he

is a child or young person in need of care,

shall be allowed to apply for asylum, and

for the purposes of this Act, shall be

assisted in terms of the Children and Young

Persons (Care Orders) Act, as if he were a

child or young person under such Act.

(1) A person shall not be

Prohibition of

refoulement.

expelled from Malta or returned in any

manner whatsoever to the frontiers of

territories where the life or freedom of that

person would be threatened on account of his

race, religion, nationality, membership of a

particular social group or political opinion.

(2) The provisions of sub-article (1)

shall not apply to a refugee or a person

enjoying subsidiary protection in respect of

whom there are reasonable grounds for

regarding him as a danger to the security of

Malta, or who, having been convicted by a

final judgment of a particularly serious crime,

constitutes a danger to the community.

The Minister may, at the written

Resettlement.

request of an applicant, or of a recognized

refugee or of a person enjoying subsidiary

protection, and, where necessary, with the

assistance of the High Commissioner,

facilitate the resettlement of such person to

another country and do all that is required for

the purpose.

The Commissioner shall ensure as

Assistance.

far as possible that the application of this Act

is in conformity with accepted international

practice, and for this purpose may seek the

assistance of the High Commissioner or of

any

national

or

international

non-

governmental body concerned with refugee

matters.

III - Subsidiary Protection Status

(1) Upon the recommendation

Qualification

for subsidiary

of the Commissioner of Refugees, the

protection

status.

Minister shall declare that subsidiary

protection status be granted to an applicant

for asylum whose application has been

dismissed but in respect of whom

substantial grounds have been shown for

believing that the person concerned, if

returned to his country of origin, or in the

case of a stateless person, to his country of

former habitual residence, would face a real

risk of suffering serious harm, and the

Commissioner shall continue to be able to

make such a recommendation in cases

where the real risk of suffering serious harm

arises even after a decision not to grant

subsidiary protection has been taken

Provided that a third country national or a

stateless person is excluded from being

eligible for subsidiary protection where there

are serious reasons for considering that

(a) he has committed a crime

against peace, a war crime, or a crime

against humanity, as defined in the

international instruments drawn up to

make provision in respect of such

crimes or is a person who instigates or

otherwise

participates

in

the

commission of such crimes; or

(b) he has committed a serious

crime; or

(c) he has been guilty of acts

contrary to the purposes and principles

of the United Nations as set out in the

Preamble and Articles 1 and 2 of the

Charter of the United Nations; or

(d) he constitutes a danger to the

community or to the security of Malta

Provided further that paragraphs (a), (b),

(c) and (d) shall also apply to persons who

instigate or otherwise participate in the

commission of the crimes or acts mentioned

therein

Provided also that the decision

concerning the granting of subsidiary

protection shall be given in conjunction with

the formal determination that the applicant

does not meet the criteria of a refugee under

this Act.

(2) The Refugee Commissioner may

exclude a third country national or a stateless

person from being eligible for subsidiary

protection if applicant, prior to his admission

to Malta, has committed one or more crimes,

outside the scope of sub-article (1), which

would be punishable by imprisonment had

they been committed in Malta and if applicant

left his country of origin solely in order to

avoid sanctions resulting from these crimes.

The following may be considered

Actors of real

risk or serious

as actors of real risk of serious harm in

threat.

terms of subarticle (1) of article 17

(a)

the State;

(b) parties or organizations

controlling the State or a substantial part

of the territory of the State;

(c)

non-State actors, if it can be

demonstrated that the actors mentioned

in paragraphs (a) and (b), including

international organizations, are unable

or unwilling to provide protection

against the acts mentioned in article

17(1).

(1) Protection may be provided

Actors of

protection.

by

(a)

the State; or

(b) parties or organizations,

including international organizations,

controlling the State or a substantial part

of the territory of the State.

(2) Protection is provided when the

entities mentioned in sub-article (1) take

reasonable steps to prevent the acts mentioned

in article 17(1) by operating an effective legal

system for the detection, prosecution and

punishment of acts constituting persecution or

serious harm, and the applicant has access to

such protection.

(1) As part of the assessment of

Internal

protection.

the application for international protection,

the Refugee Commissioner may determine

that the applicant is not in need of

international protection if, in the exercise of

his functions, he deems that in a part of the

country of origin there is no well-founded fear

of being subject to the acts mentioned in

article 17(1) and the applicant is reasonably

expected to stay in that part of the country.

(2) Sub-article

(1)

may

apply

notwithstanding any obstacle or difficulty

which the applicant may have to return to his

country of origin.

Subsidiary protection shall cease if

Cessation of

qualification of

the Minister is satisfied, after consulting the

subsidiary

protection

Commissioner, that the circumstances which

status.

led to the granting of subsidiary protection

status have ceased to exist or have changed to

such a degree that protection is no longer

required

Provided that regard shall be had as to

whether the change of circumstances is of

such a significant and non-temporary nature

that the person eligible for subsidiary

protection no longer faces a real risk of

serious harm.

The Minister shall revoke or refuse

Revocation or

refusal to

to renew the subsidiary protection status of a

renew

subsidiary

third country national or a stateless person if

protection

status.

(a) after having been granted

subsidiary protection status, that person

should have been or is excluded from

being eligible for subsidiary protection

in accordance with article 17(1); or

(b) that

person’s

mis-

representation or omission of facts,

including the use of false documents,

were decisive for the granting of

subsidiary protection status.

Part V

Accelerated Procedures

(1) A person seeking asylum in

Manifestly

unfounded

Malta in terms of article 8 shall be examined

applications.

under accelerated procedures in accordance

with this article when his application appears

prima facie to be manifestly unfounded.

(2) Where the Commissioner is prima

facie of the opinion, at whichever stage, that

the application is manifestly unfounded, the

Commissioner shall examine the application

within three working days and shall, where

applicable, recommend that the application is

manifestly unfounded.

(3) The

recommendation

shall

immediately be referred to the Chairman of

the Board who shall examine and review the

recommendation of the Commissioner within

three working days.

(4) The decision of the Chairman of

the Board on whether the application is

manifestly unfounded shall be final and

conclusive

and,

notwithstanding

the

provisions of any other law, no appeal or form

of judicial review shall lie before the Board or

before any other court of law.

(5) Where, following the procedures

outlined in the previous provisions of this

article, an application is rejected, the

Chairman of the Board shall send a copy of

the decision with the grounds therefor to the

Minister and the Commissioner.

(6) Any interview with the applicant

under the foregoing provisions of this article

shall, where necessary, be conducted in

private and with the assistance of an

interpreter. The applicant shall also be

informed of his right to obtain the services of

a legal adviser to assist him during

accelerated proceedings and to consult the

High Commissioner.

(7) Where

the

application

is

considered not to be manifestly unfounded

such application shall be examined under

normal procedures as provided under this Act.

(8) Without prejudice to the generality

of the foregoing provisions of this article, if in

the process of examining any application

submitted in terms of article 8, the

Commissioner arrives at the conclusion that

the application should be dealt with under

accelerated procedures on the basis of its

being prima facie manifestly unfounded or

because the applicant has found or could have

found safe protection elsewhere in terms of

the Convention and the Directives, the

application shall be dealt with under

accelerated procedures and the foregoing

provisions of this article shall mutatis

mutandis apply.

(9) If an applicant holds a travel

document issued by a safe third country

pursuant to the Convention and the

Directives, he may be declared to have been

safe from persecution in such State and his

application shall be dealt with under

accelerated procedures in accordance with the

foregoing provisions of this article.

(1) The application of any

Inadmissible

applications.

person in Malta seeking recognition of

refugee status and who falls under any one of

the

following

conditions,

shall

be

inadmissible if

(a) another Member State has

granted refugee status or is obliged to

examine the particular application for

asylum in terms of Council Regulation

(EC) 343/03 of 18 February 2003

establishing the criteria and mechanisms

for determining the Member State

responsible for examining an asylum

application lodged in one of the Member

States by a third country national;

(b) a country which is not a

Member State is considered as a first

country of asylum for the applicant;

(c) a country which is not a

Member State is considered as a safe

third country for the applicant;

(d) the applicant is allowed to

stay in Malta on some other grounds and

as a result of this he has been granted a

status comparable to the rights and

benefits of the refugee status;

(e) the applicant is allowed to

stay in Malta on some other grounds

which protect him against refoulement

pending the outcome of a procedure for

the determination of his status;

(f)

the applicant has lodged an

identical application after a final

decision;

(g) a dependant of the applicant

lodges an application after consenting to

have his case be part of an application

made on his behalf, and there are no

facts relating to the dependant person’s

situation which justify a separate

application;

(h) has been recognized in a

country which is not a member state as a

refugee and can still avail himself of that

protection or otherwise enjoys sufficient

protection in that country, including

benefiting from the principle of non-

refoulement, and such person can be re-

admitted to that country; or

(i)

is a national or citizen of any

safe country of origin listed in the

Schedule or, if he is not a national or

citizen thereof, he has a right of

residence therein.

(2) The provisions of subarticles (2),

(3), (4) and (5) of article 22 shall apply

mutatis

mutandis

to

inadmissible

applications.

(3) The Minister may by regulations

amend the list of countries specified in the

Schedule, provided that only countries which

in his opinion are countries of safe origin may

be listed in the said Schedule, sohowever that

the Minister shall remove from the said

Schedule any country which in his opinion is

no longer a safe country of origin.".

9. Articles 19 and 20 of the principal Act shall be

renumbered as articles 25 and 26 thereof respectively.

10. Article 25 of the principal Act as renumbered shall be

amended as follows

(a) in paragraph (f) of sub-article (1) thereof

immediately after the words "permits to recognized refugees"

there shall be added the words "and their family members, and

persons enjoying subsidiary protection";

(b) immediately after paragraph (g) thereof there shall

be added the following new paragraphs

"(h) for implementing the provisions of the

European Union Council Directives relating to refugees

and ancillary matters;

(i) for providing that any person who

contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of any

one or more regulations, shall be guilty of an offence

against the regulations and for establishing the penalty for

infringement of such regulations of a fine (multa) not

exceeding two thousand and five hundred euro (€2,500) or

imprisonment not exceeding three months, or of both such

fine and imprisonment.".

11. The Schedule to the principal Act shall be amended as

(a) for the words "(Article 18A)" there shall be

substituted the words "(Article 24)";

(b) the words "Bulgaria" and "Romania" shall be

deleted; and

(c) immediately after the word "Uruguay" there shall be

added the words "Member States of the European Union and

European Economic Area".

12. In subarticle (1) of article 36 of the Immigration Act, for

the words "for carrying the purposes or provisions of this Act into

effect." there shall be substituted the words "for carrying the purposes

or provisions of this Act into effect, and such power shall include that

of providing that any person who contravenes or fails to comply with

the provisions of any one or more regulations shall be guilty of an

offence against such regulations and of establishing the penalty for

such infringement which shall be a fine (multa) not exceeding two

thousand and five hundred euro (€2,500) or imprisonment not

exceeding three months, or both such fine and imprisonment.".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 34 of the

16th July, 2008.

L OUIS G ALEA

Speaker

P AULINE A BELA

Acting Clerk to the House of Representatives