ACT No. VIII of 2008 AN ACT to amend the Explosives Ordinance, Cap. 33.

I assent.

E DWARD F ENECH A DAMI

(L.S.)

President

29th July, 2008

ACT No. VIII of 2008

AN ACT to amend the Explosives Ordinance, Cap. 33.

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 Explosives Ordinance Short title.

(Amendment) Act, 2008 and this Act shall be read and construed as

one with the Explosives Ordinance, hereinafter referred to as “the Cap. 33.

principal law”.

In article 2 of the principal law immediately after the Amendment of

definition of “explosive” there shall be inserted the following new article

principal law.

definition

“factory” means any building or premises or any part

thereof wherein explosives are manufactured or wherein any

process of such manufacture is carried out;”.

Sub-article (2) of article 3 of the principal law shall be Amendment of

article 3 of the

amended as follows

principal law.

(a)

in the proviso thereto, for the words “for sale.”,

there shall be substituted the words “for sale:”; and

(b) immediately after the proviso thereto as amended,

there shall be added the following new proviso

“Provided further that upon a reasonable suspicion

that a serious breach of the provisions of this Ordinance

has occurred, the Commissioner of Police shall have the

right to close a gunpowder factory or any other similar

factory for a period not exceeding two weeks, so however

that if at any time criminal proceedings are commenced

relating to such factory for the breach of any provision of

this Ordinance, the court may, pending the proceedings, of

its own motion or at the request of the prosecution, order

such factory to be closed until the termination of the

proceedings by a final judgment.”.

Immediately after article 26 of the principal law there shall

be added the following new articles

Any police officer may arrest without

“Arrest without

warrant any person who has committed, or attempted

to commit, or is reasonably suspected by the officer of

having committed or attempted to commit, an offence

against the provisions of this Ordinance, or of any

regulations made thereunder, if he has reasonable

ground for believing that that person will abscond

unless arrested, or if the name and address of that

person are unknown to and cannot be ascertained by

him.

The Commissioner of Police may, saving

the provisions of any other existing law, suspend any

licence in the course of any proceedings for an offence

against the provisions of this Ordinance.”.

5. In article 27 of the principal law for the words “be liable to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine (multa)

of not less that forty-six euros and fifty-nine cents (46.59) and not

more than four hundred and sixty-five euros and eighty-seven cents

(465.87),” there shall be substituted the words “be liable to

imprisonment for a term from two to five years or to a fine (multa) of

not less than five thousand euro (€5,000) and not more than twenty-

five thousand euro (€25,000),”.

6. Article 29 of the principal law shall be amended as

(a) the present provision thereof shall be numbered as

sub-article (1) thereof and for the words therein “be liable to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to a fine

(multa) of not less than forty-six euros and fifty-nine cents

(46.59) and not more than four hundred and sixty-five euros and

eighty-seven cents (465.87)”, there shall be substituted the

words “be liable to imprisonment for a term from six months to

two years or to a fine (multa) of not less than fifteen thousand

euro (€15,000) and not more than fifty thousand euro

(€50,000),”;

(b) immediately after sub-article (1)

thereof

as

renumbered there shall be inserted the following

“(2) Where gunpowder or any other substance as

referred to in sub-article (1) and which are kept, prepared,

sold, offered for sale or delivered as provided in sub-article

(1) cause an explosion in consequence whereof the death

of an other person or bodily harm to another person ensues,

the person who kept, prepared, sold, offered for sale or

delivered the same gunpowder or other substance shall,

upon conviction, be liable as follows

(a) where the death of another person has

ensued, to the punishment of imprisonment not

exceeding four years;

(b) where a bodily harm which produces any of

the effects mentioned in article 218 of the Criminal

Code has ensued, to the punishment of imprisonment

not exceeding two years or to a fine (multa) of not

less than eight thousand euro (€8,000) but not

exceeding eighty thousand euro (€80,000) or to both

such fine and imprisonment;

(c) where a bodily harm which does not

produce any of the effects mentioned in article 218

of the Criminal Code has ensued, to the punishment

of imprisonment not exceeding one year or to a fine

(multa) of not less than two thousand five hundred

euro (€2,500) but not exceeding twenty thousand

euro (€20,000) or to both such fine and

imprisonment.”.

7. In article 30 of the principal law for the words “be liable to Amendment of

imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month or to a fine (multa) article

principal law.

of not less than twenty-three euros and twenty-nine cents (23.29) and

not more than one hundred and sixteen euros and forty-seven cents

(116.47),” there shall be substituted the words “be liable to

imprisonment for a term from three months to one year or to a fine

(multa) of not less than two thousand euro (€2,000) and not more than

twenty thousand euro (€20,000),”.

8. In article 32 of the principal law

(a) for the words “in article 23(2)” there shall be

substituted the words “in articles 8 and 23(2)”;

(b) for the words “in that article” there shall be

substituted the words “in those articles”; and

(c) for the words “be liable to a fine (ammenda) or to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.” there shall

be substituted the words “be liable to a fine (multa) not

exceeding one thousand euro (€1,000) or to imprisonment not

exceeding six months, or to both such fine and imprisonment.”.

9. In sub-article (2) of article 33 of the principal law

(a) for the words “not less than fifty cents,” there shall

be substituted the words “not less than one hundred and fifty

euro (€150),” and

(b) for the words “three days” there shall be substituted

the words “one month”.

10. Article 39 of the principal law shall be deleted.

11. Immediately after article 40 of the principal law there shall

be added the following new articles

On conviction for an offence under this

Ordinance, the court may, at the request of the

prosecution or on its own motion, cancel any licence

held by the offender in respect of any factory, shop or

other premises wherein or within the precincts

whereof the offence was committed, and, in the case of

an offence committed through the use of a vehicle,

both the offender’s driving licence and any licence

held by him in respect of the vehicle to which the

offence relates

Provided that nothing in this article shall be

deemed to affect any powers of the Commissioner of

Police under any other law to cancel or suspend any

licence.

The provisions of article 24 of the

Probation Act concerning the power of the court to

order the offender to pay damages shall, mutatis

mutandis, also apply whenever a person is sentenced

upon conviction for an offence against the provisions

of this Ordinance.”.

12. In article 42 of the principal law for the words “Except in Amendment of

the case of the offence referred to in article 26, any proceedings for an article

offence against this Ordinance or any regulations made thereunder,

shall be instituted” there shall be substituted the words “Proceedings

for an offence against any regulations made under this Ordinance, in

so far as they are not accompanied by an offence against this

Ordinance, shall be instituted”.

13. Immediately after article 43 of the principal law, there shall Addition of new

be added the following new article

Where, in respect of a person found guilty

of an offence against this Ordinance, the prosecution

declares in the records of the proceedings that such

person has helped the Police to apprehend the person

or persons who supplied him with the explosives, or

the person found guilty as aforesaid proves to the

satisfaction of the court that he has so helped the

Police, the punishment shall be diminished, as regards

imprisonment by one or two degrees, and as regards

any pecuniary penalty by one-third and one-half

respectively.”.

14. Article 44 of the principal law shall be substituted by the Amendment of

following new article

Where a person, who has been convicted of

an offence against the provisions of this Ordinance, or

of any regulations made thereunder, commits a second

like offence, he shall be liable, on conviction, to the

punishment for the offence increased by two degrees,

and on a third or subsequent conviction, by three

degrees.”.

15. Immediately after article 45 of the principal law there shall Addition of new

be inserted the following new articles

(1) Where an offence has been

committed against the provisions of this Ordinance,

the court shall, in addition to any other punishment, in

its sentence or at any time thereafter, at the request of

the prosecution

(a)

where any immovable property has

been used for the manufacture, sale, exposition

for sale, or storage of explosives as described in

the bill of indictment or in the charge, order the

forfeiture in favour of the Government of any

real title which the offender holds on such

immovable property;

(b) where the offender is not the absolute

owner but holds any other real title on the

immovable property, or has a title, other than a

real title, in virtue of which he has the control of

or a right of access to such property, the court

shall order the offender to pay a fine (multa) of

not less than ten thousand euro (€10,000) but not

exceeding sixty thousand euro (€60,000) as the

court shall determine after taking into account

the value of the immovable property and the

value of the real title thereon, if any, forfeited as

aforesaid;

(c)

saving the provisions of the Criminal

Code, make an order whereby the provisions of

paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be applied, mutatis

mutandis, to or in respect of any vessel or

vehicle, used for the keeping, storing or

conveyance of, or for the selling or dealing in,

explosives; and

(d) order the forfeiture in favour of the

Government of the immovable property used for

the manufacture, sale, exposition for sale, or

storage of explosives, of the person so found

guilty even if the immovable property has, since

the offender was charged, passed into the hands

of third parties.

(2) Any decision as is mentioned in sub-article

(1) ordering the forfeiture of immovable property or of

any title to such property shall be deemed to be and

shall be enforceable as a civil judgment transferring

that title in favour of the Government, and the

Attorney General shall, for the purposes of article 239

of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure, be

considered as the interested party that may obtain the

registration of such transfer.

(1) Where a person is charged under this

Ordinance or under regulations made thereunder, and

such person is a person in possession of a licence,

permit or authority issued to him by a competent

authority in or in connection with the exercise of any

art, trade, calling or other occupation and the offence

is committed in a place licenced under this Ordinance,

or under any other law, the court may make an order,

hereinafter referred to as a “suspension order”,

suspending such licence, permit or authority.

(2) The suspension order shall remain in force

for the whole duration of the proceedings until final

judgment.

(3) Any person who does any act for the doing

of which a licence, permit or authority is required

under any law and such act is done when that licence,

permit or authority had been suspended by virtue of a

suspension order shall be deemed to have so acted

without the required licence, permit or authority.

Saving what is provided in article 40B,

the provisions of articles 21 and 28A of the Criminal

Code and the provisions of the Probation Act shall not

be applicable in respect of any person convicted of an

offence under this Ordinance.

On conviction for an offence under the

provisions of this Ordinance or of any regulations

made thereunder, the court may order the offender to

pay to any injured party such sum of money that may

be determined by the court in that direction as

compensation for any such loss as aforesaid or for any

damages or other injury or harm caused to such party

by or through the offence.”.

16. In article 46 of the principal law for the words “not Amendment of

exceeding four euros and sixty-six cents (4.66)” there shall be article

substituted the words “of not less than twenty-five euro (€25) and not

more than one hundred euro (€100).”.

17. Immediately after article 226A of the Criminal Code there Addition of new

shall be added the following new article

226B. Where any of the offences in articles 225,

226 and 226A has been committed by any explosive

fluid or substance, the punishment laid down for the

offence shall be increased by two to three degrees.”.

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