ACT No. XX of 2017 AN ACT to amend the Refugees Act, Cap. 420.

I assent.

M ARIE- L OUISE

(L.S.)

C OLEIRO P RECA

President

28th April, 2017

ACT No. XX of 2017

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, 2017, and this Act shall be read and construed as one with the

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

In article 2 of the principal Act, the definition "safe Amendment of

country of origin" shall be substituted by the following new article

principal Act.

definition

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

applicant, for the purpose of international protection

(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;".

Article 5 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a)

The second proviso to sub-article 5(1) shall be

deleted and shall be substituted by the following new proviso

"Provided further that one of the members shall be a

person representing the disability sector.".

(b) Immediately after sub-article (2) of article 5 of the

principal Act, there shall be added the following new sub-

article

"(2A) Persons appointed as members of the Board

shall hold office until their successors are appointed.".

(c)

In sub-article 5(4)(c), for the words "two other

member" there shall be substituted the words "three other

members".

(d) Immediately after sub-article 5(4)(c), there shall be

added the following new sub-article 5(5)

"(5) One of the members of the Board referred to in

sub-article (4)(c) may act as a Secretary.".

Article 7 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

(a) Sub-article (1) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(1) The Board shall have power to hear and

determine appeals against a recommendation of the

Commissioner including appeals from decisions for the

transfer of a third country national from Malta to another

Member State in accordance with the provisions of

Council Regulation 604/2013 establishing the criteria

and mechanisms for determining the Member State

responsible for examining an application for

international protection lodged in one of the Member

States by a third country national or stateless person.".

(b) Immediately after sub-article 7(1A)(a)(ii) there shall

be added the following new proviso

"Provided that for the purpose of this provision,

the review conducted by the Chairperson of the Refugee

Appeals Board shall be deemed to constitute an appeal.".

(c) In sub-article 7(2), for the words "fifteen days",

there shall be substituted the words "two weeks".

In sub-article (6) of article 7A of the principal Act, for the Amendment of

words "article 24(1)(f)" there shall be substituted the words "article article

principal Act.

24(1)(d)".

Article 22 shall be renumbered as sub-article 22(1) and Amendment of

immediately after sub-article 22(1), there shall be added the following article

principal Act.

new proviso and sub-article 22(2)

"Provided that he shall be informed in writing that his

qualification for subsidiary protection 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 subsidiary protection should not be withdrawn;

(2) A person, whose subsidiary protection has been

revoked, shall be entitled to appeal against the revocation before

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.".

Article 24 of the principal Act shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 24 of the

principal Act.

(a)

In paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) thereof, the words

"in terms of Council Regulation No. 604/2013 of 26 June 2013

establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the

Member State responsible for examining an application for

international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a

third-country national or a stateless person" shall be deleted.

(b) In the Schedule referred to in this article, the words

"Croatia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland" shall

be deleted.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 507 of the

12th April, 2017.

ĊENSU GALEA

Deputy Speaker

R AYMOND S CICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.54