ACT No. XII of 2018 AN ACT to make provision for consular protection to unrepresented citizens.

I assent.

(L.S.)

MARIE-LOUISE

COLEIRO PRECA

President

27th April, 2018

ACT No. XII of 2018

AN ACT to make provision for consular protection to

unrepresented citizens.

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 Consular Protection Short title.

(Unrepresented Citizens) Act, 2018.

A.

Common format for undertaking to repay costs of consular protection

in case of financial assistance

UNDERTAKING TO REPAY COSTS

OF CONSULAR PROTECTION

I, (Mr/Ms) (full name in block capitals) .........................................................

holder of passport No. ................................. issued at .....................................

hereby acknowledge receipt from the Embassy/Consulate of

............................................................... at .....................................................

of the sum of ..................................................................................................

as an advance for the purpose of .....................................................................

(including any applicable fee)

and/or undertake and promise to repay on demand to the Ministry for Foreign

Affairs/Government of [Member State of nationality]

in accordance with the national law of that Member State the equivalent of

that sum or the equivalent of all costs as paid on my account or advanced to

me, including costs incurred by the member(s) of my family accompanying

me, in (currency) ............................................................................................

at the rate of exchange prevailing on the day on which the advance was made

or the costs were paid.

My address (*) (in block capitals) (country) ...................................................

is: ....................................................................................................................

DATE ........................................ SIGNATURE ..............................................

(*)

if you have no permanent address, please indicate a contact address.

B.

Common format for undertaking to repay costs of consular protection

in case of repatriation

UNDERTAKING TO REPAY COSTS

OF CONSULAR PROTECTION

I, (Mr/Ms) (full name in block capitals) ..........................................................

born at (town) ........................................... in (country) ..................................

on (date) ..........................................................................................................

holder of passport No. ...................................... issued at ................................

on ......................................................... and ID No. ........................................

and Social Security No. and competent authority (if applicable/where

relevant) ..........................................................................................................

hereby undertake to repay on demand to the Government of

in accordance with the national law of that Member State the equivalent of

all costs as paid on my account or advanced to me by the consular officer

of the ........................................ Government at ..............................................

for the purpose of, or in connection with, the repatriation to

of myself and the members of my family accompanying me, and to pay all

appropriate consular fees in respect of the repatriation.

These are

(i)( * )

Fares

Subsistence

Miscellaneous costs

LESS the contribution made by me

CONSULAR FEES

Repatriation fee

Attendance fee

Passport/emergency fees

(............ hours at .......... per hour ...........)

(ii)( * )

All sums on my account for the purpose of, or in connection with,

the repatriation of myself and the members of my family

accompanying me which cannot be determined at the time this

undertaking to repay is signed by me.

My address (**) (in block capitals) (country) ..................................................

is: ....................................................................................................................

DATE ................................. SIGNATURE ......................................

(*)

Delete as appropriate: The Consular Officer and the applicant should initial each

deletion in the margin.

(**)

If you have no permanent address, please indicate a contact address.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

Interpretation.

"lead State" means one or more Member States represented in a

given third country and in charge of coordinating and leading the

assistance of unrepresented citizens during crises;

"third country" means a country which is not a Member State of

the European Union;

"unrepresented citizen" means a citizen holding the nationality

of a Member State who is not represented in a third country through

an embassy or a consulate established therein on a permanent basis or,

if it has no embassy, consulate or honorary consul there which is

effectively in a position to provide consular protection in a given

case;

"unrepresented citizen of Malta" means a citizen of Malta who

is not represented in a third country through an embassy or a

consulate established therein on a permanent basis or, if it has no

embassy, consulate or honorary consul of the Government of Malta

which is effectively in a position to provide consular protection in a

given case.

Form of the request for reimbursement

1. Requesting Member State's embassy or consulate

2. Competent embassy or consulate or Ministry of Foreign Affairs of

assisted citizen's Member State of nationality

3. Identification of the event

(date, place)

4. Data of assisted citizen(s) (to be attached separately)

Name and

Kind of

Place and

number of

Full name

assistance

Costs

date of birth

the travel

provided

document

5. Total costs

6. Bank account for the reimbursement

7. Attachment: undertaking to repay (if applicable)

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 103 of the

23rd April, 2018.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€1.08

(1) Embassies or consulates representing the

Government of Malta in a third country shall provide consular

protection to an unrepresented citizen as if he was a citizen of Malta.

(2) An unrepresented citizen of Malta is entitled to seek

consular protection from the embassy or consulate of any Member

State in that third country.

(3) The consular protection referred to in sub-article (1) may,

inter alia, include assistance in the following situations

(a)

arrest or detention;

(b)

being a victim of crime;

(c)

a serious accident or serious illness;

(d)

death;

(e)

relief and repatriation in case of an emergency;

(f)

a need for emergency travel documents.

(1) The Government of Malta may, when a Member

State informs it that an unrepresented citizen of Malta is seeking or

receiving consular protection from its embassy or consulate in a third

country, request such Member State to redirect the unrepresented

citizen of Malta’s application or case to it.

(2) Where the Government of Malta is providing consular

protection to an unrepresented citizen it shall inform the Member

State of his nationality

Provided that where the Government of Malta is requested

to hand over the application or case of an unrepresented citizen in a

third country by the Member State of his nationality, the Government

of Malta shall relinquish the case as soon as the requesting Member

State confirms that the unrepresented citizen is being provided with

consular protection.

(3) Requests for redirection of consular protection shall follow

the procedure provided for under article 8.

The Government of Malta shall provide consular Consular

protection to family members of unrepresented citizens who, though protection

family members

not being citizens of a Member State, are accompanying of

citizens.

unrepresented citizens in a third country. Such protection shall be

provided to the same extent and on the same concessions as if the

family members were family members of a citizen of Malta.

(1) The Government of Malta may represent or be Representation

by Member

represented by another Member State on a permanent basis.

States.

(2) Embassies or consulates of the Government of Malta may,

whenever they deem necessary, conclude practical agreements with

other Member States on sharing responsibilities for providing

consular protection to unrepresented citizens.

(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of article 3, where an

unrepresented citizen seeks consular protection from an embassy or

consulate of the Government of Malta which, according to the

practical agreement referred to in sub-article (2), is not deemed

competent, then the embassy or consulate shall redirect the

application to the relevant embassy or consulate

Provided that the provisions of this sub-article shall not

apply if the urgency of the matter requires immediate action.

(1) Unrepresented citizens seeking consular protection Identification of

from the Government of Malta shall establish that they are citizens of unrepresented

citizens.

the European Union by producing their passport or the identity card

Provided that if the unrepresented citizen is unable to

produce such means of identification, nationality may be proven by

any other means, including verification with the diplomatic and

consular authorities of the Member State of which the unrepresented

citizen claims to be a national.

(2) With regard to family members referred to in article 5, the

identity and existence of the family relationship may be proven by

any means, including verification by the Government of Malta with

the diplomatic consular authorities of the Member State of the citizen

as referred to in sub-article (1).

(1) Diplomatic and consular authorities of the Cooperation

Government of Malta shall closely cooperate with the embassies and, between

diplomatic and

or, consulates of other Member States to ensure protection of consular

authorities.

unrepresented citizens.

(2) When an embassy or consulate of the Government of

Malta receives a request for consular protection from a person who

claims to be an unrepresented citizen, or is informed of an individual

emergency situation of an unrepresented citizen, the Government of

Malta shall without delay consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

of the Member State of which the person claims to be a national or,

where appropriate, the competent embassy or consulate of a Member

State and provide it with all the relevant information at its disposal,

including but not limited to

(a)

the identity of the person concerned;

(b)

the possible cost of consular protection; and

(c)

any family members to whom consular protection

may also need to be provided

Provided that, before the provision of any form of consular

protection, the unrepresented citizen shall sign a consent form

whereby he obliges himself to reimburse the Government of Malta for

any reasonable costs incurred in the provision of consular protection

unless such costs are excluded under this Act.

(3) The Government of Malta shall also facilitate the exchange

of information between the citizen concerned and the authorities of

the Member State of the citizen’s nationality.

Where a claim is made by an unrepresented citizen of

Malta to an embassy or consulate of a Member State, the Government

of Malta shall, if requested by the relevant authorities of such

Member State, provide the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs or

competent embassy or consulate with all the relevant information

referred to in article 8(2) and be responsible for any necessary contact

with the family members or other relevant persons or authorities.

(1) The Government of Malta shall, without prejudice to

any existing local contingency plans, together with other Member

States, draw up local contingency plans in third countries in which it

is represented in order to ensure that unrepresented citizens are fully

assisted in the event of a crisis and, where appropriate, it shall involve

the relevant embassy or consulate.

(2) In the event of a crisis the Government of Malta shall,

where possible, inform other Member States of available evacuation

capacities in a timely manner and may also request aid, such as

consular experts, from unrepresented Member States.

(3) The Government of Malta shall provide the lead State or

other Member States coordinating assistance with all relevant

information regarding its unrepresented citizens present in a crisis

situation if the Government of Malta, alone or together with other

Member States, is coordinating assistance for unrepresented citizens

and it may seek, where appropriate, support from European Union

instruments.

(1) Unrepresented citizens of Malta shall reimburse the Payment for

Government of Malta for costs incurred in providing consular consular

protection.

protection and on the same conditions as the nationals of the assisting

Member State as provided for under Schedule I.

(2) Unrepresented citizens shall directly reimburse their

Member State of nationality when directly requested to do so as

provided under Schedule I

Provided that where an unrepresented citizen of Malta fails

to reimburse for costs incurred in accordance with Schedule I, the

Government of Malta may claim any right of reimbursement which it

may hold against that unrepresented citizen of Malta.

(1) The Government of Malta shall seek reimbursement Reimbursement

for any costs incurred in providing consular protection to of

Member States.

unrepresented citizens from the Member State of their nationality as

provided for under Schedule II.

(2) Where the costs of consular protection provided for

unrepresented citizens consist in unusually high but essential costs

such as to travel, accommodation or translation for the diplomatic or

consular authorities in the case of arrest or detention, the Government

of Malta may request the reimbursement of such costs from the

unrepresented citizen’s Member State of nationality

Provided that where the Government of Malta is requested

to pay such costs from a Member State it shall reimburse the

requesting Member State within a period of twelve months.

(1) The Government of Malta shall, where it is seeking Costs incurred

reimbursement for any consular protection provided for an in

situations.

unrepresented citizen in crisis situations, submit any requests to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the unrepresented citizen’s Member

State of nationality

Provided that such right shall subsist notwithstanding that

the unrepresented citizen has not signed an undertaking to repay.

(2) The Government of Malta may ask the unrepresented

citizen’s Member State of nationality to reimburse such costs on a pro

rata basis, by dividing the full value of the actual costs incurred by

the number of citizens assisted.

(3) Where the Government of Malta was financially supported

by way of assistance from the European Union civil protection

mechanism, any contribution from the unrepresented citizen’s

Member State of nationality shall be determined after deduction of

the European Union’s contribution.

When unrepresented citizens of Malta are seeking consular

protection from an embassy or consulate of a Member State in a third

country they shall enjoy the same rights as enjoyed by the nationals of

that Member State notwithstanding the fact that such rights may be

less than those provided for by an embassy or consulate of the

Government of Malta in a third country.