ACT No. IV of 2023 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code, Cap. 9 and related laws.

I assent.

(L.S.)

FRANK BEZZINA

Acting President

28th February, 2023

ACT No. IV of 2023

AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code, Cap. 9 and related laws.

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:-

(1) The short title of this Act is the Criminal Code and Short title and

commencement .

Related Laws (Amendment) Act, 2023.

This Act shall come into force on 28 th February 2023.

(2)

PART I

Amendments to the Criminal Code

This Part amends the Criminal Code and it shall be read and Amendments to

construed as one with the Criminal Code, hereinafter in this Part the

Criminal

Code.

referred to as "the Code".

Sub-article (3) of article 370 of the Code shall be amended as Amendment of

article 370 of

follows

the Code.

(a) in paragraph (b) thereof, the words "On the record

being returned" shall be substituted by the words "On the

demand of the Attorney General"; and

(b) paragraph (d) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new paragraph

"(d) If the accused objects to the case being dealt

with summarily, the court shall order that the record of the

case be transmitted to the Attorney General, by electronic

means, within the term determined in article 401(3), for the

case to be dealt with according to law. In such case the

term referred to in article 432 for the filing of the

indictment shall run from the day on which the Attorney

General shall be granted access by electronic means to the

record of the case.".

Article 401 of the Code shall be amended as follows

(a) sub-article (3A) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

(3A) Where the court has committed the accused for

trial by the Criminal Court, the court shall, besides giving

the order mentioned in sub-article (3), adjourn the case to

proceedings to

another date, being a date not earlier than one (1) month

but not later than six (6) weeks from the date of the

adjournment. The court shall also adjourn the case as

aforesaid to a date falling after the court shall have received

the note of referral according to sub-article (2) of article 405

from the Attorney General and falling before the date when

it shall grant access again by electronic means to the record

of the inquiry together with all the exhibits and documents

in the case to the Attorney General in terms of any provision

of this Code."; and

(b) immediately after sub-article (4) thereof there shall

be added the following new sub-article

"(5) During the term stipulated in sub-article (3A),

the Criminal Court shall be competent to decide on

demands that are filed during the said term.".

In the Maltese version only, in article 402A of the Code the

words "bħala qorti ta’ inkjesta kriminali" shall be substituted by the

words "bħala Qorti Istruttorja".

Article 405 of the Code shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 405 of

the Code.

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

following new sub-article

"(1) The court shall, after ordering that the Attorney

General be granted access by electronic means to the record

of the inquiry and to all the exhibits in the case, after

ordering the committal of the accused for trial, and before

the filing of the bill of indictment, upon the demand in

writing of the Attorney General, further examine any

witness previously heard or examine any new witness"; and

(b) in sub-article (5) thereof, the words "who, not later

than the day following, shall forward to the court the record of

inquiry" shall be deleted.

Sub-article (2) of article 419 of the Code shall be substituted Amendment of

article 419 of

by the following new sub-article

the Code.

"(2) If the appeal is made by the Attorney General, the

application shall, under pain of nullity, be signed by him and

shall be filed in the the superior court.".

Sub-article (1) of article 431 of the Code shall be substituted Amendment of

article 431 of

by the following new sub-article

the Code.

"(1) Unless otherwise provided in this Code or in any

other law, the functions of the Attorney General commence from

the day on which the record of the inquiry made by the Court of

Magistrates is transmitted by the court to the Attorney General by

electronic means.".

Article 432 of the Code shall be amended as follows

Amendment of

article 432 of

the Code.

(a) in sub-article (1) thereof, the words "of the receipt of"

shall be substituted by the words "the Attorney General is granted

access by electronic means to";

(b) in sub-article (2) thereof, the words "may send back

the record to the court from which it was received, together with"

shall be substituted by the words "may file"; and

(c) sub-article (3) thereof shall be substituted by the

following new sub-article

"(3) The court shall, within the term of five (5)

working days which shall run from the day on which the

demand is filed by the Attorney General, which term may,

upon a demand in writing by the court and on a just cause

being shown, may be extended by the President of Malta to

a further period of five (5) working days, conclude the

fresh inquiry or rectify the record, and shall grant the

Attorney General access by electronic means to the said

record; and in such case the term for filing the indictment

shall commence to run from the day on which the Attorney

General shall have been given access to the record of the

fresh inquiry or the record as rectified.".

Article 433 of the Code shall be amended as follows

(a) in sub-article (3) thereof, the words "from the day on

which the record of the inquiry shall have been transmitted to

him" shall be substituted by the words "from the day on which he

is granted access by electronic means to the record of the

inquiry"; and

(b) in sub-article (5) thereof, the words "send back the

record of inquiry to that court" shall be substituted by the words

"file a demand to the Court of Magistrates".

In sub-article (2) of article 435 of the Code, the words "he

shall send back the whole record to the Court of Magistrates" shall be

substituted by the words "the Attorney General shall file a demand to

the Court of Magistrates".

In sub-article (2) of article 590 of the Code, the words "the

record of the inquiry together with" shall be deleted.

Immediately after article 699 of the Code there shall be added

the following new article

" Transfer and

699A. Any reference in this Code to the receipt of the

receipt of record by

record of a case by a court or by the Attorney General or

electronic means

not to give rise to a to the transfer of the record of a case from a court to

procedural defect.

another court or to the Attorney General shall be deemed

to include a reference to the granting of access to the said

record by electronic means and to the transfer or receipt

of a scanned copy of the record by electronic means and

no nullity or other defect in the procedure followed shall

arise when the transfer or the receipt of the record is

made by one (1) of the electronic means referred to in

this article instead of by physical transfer.".

(1) The provisions of this Part of this Act shall only apply to Transitory

criminal proceedings which commence after the date of coming into provision

saving.

force of this Act, and for criminal proceedings that commenced before

the entry into force of this Act, the provisions that were in force prior to

the entry into force of the Criminal Code (Amendment No. 2) Act, 2022 Act No. V of

and of this Act, shall continue to apply.

2022. (2) Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any order,

decision, authorisation, document, procedure or other measure made

prior to the coming into force of this Act, and such order, decision,

authorisation, document, procedure or other measure shall continue to

be valid after the coming into force of this Act.

PART II

Amendments to the Criminal Code (Amendment No. 2) Act, 2022

This Part amends the Criminal Code (Amendment No. 2) Act, Amendments to

2022 and it shall be read and construed as one with the Criminal Code the

Code

(Amendment No. 2) Act, 2022, hereinafter in this Part referred to as (Amendment

No. 2) Act,

"the Act".

2022. Act No. V of

2022.

Article 4 of the Act shall be substituted by the following

Substitution of

article 4 of the

Act.

"4. Sub-article (3) of article 401 of the Code shall be

substituted by the following new sub-article

"(3) In either case, the court shall order that the

Attorney General be granted access by electronic means to a

scanned copy of the record of the inquiry, together with all

the exhibits related to the case, within three (3) working

days.".".

In paragraph (c) of article 6 of the Act, that substitutes sub- Amendment of

article (7) of article 405 of the Code, the word "charged" shall be article

Act.

substituted by the words "person charged".

(1) Article 4 of the Act, as amended by article 16 of this Part, Transitory

shall only apply to criminal proceedings which commence after the date provision

saving.

of coming into force of this Act.

(2) Nothing in this Act shall affect the validity of any order,

decision, authorisation, document, procedure or other measure made

prior to the coming into force of this Act, and such order, decision,

authorisation, document, procedure or other measure shall continue to

be valid after the coming into force of this Act.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 91 of the

22nd February, 2023.

ANĠLU FARRUGIA

Speaker

RAYMOND SCICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives

€0.72