SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACT

CHAPTER 521

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ACT

To mainstream sustainable development across the workings of

government, to raise awareness of sustainable development issues and

practices across society and to promote the adoption thereof.

10th July, 2012

ACT X of 2012 , as amended by Acts I of 2019 and XXXV of 2023.

PART I

Preliminary

The short title of this Act is the Sustainable Development

Act.

(1) The purpose of this Act is to create a framework

through which sustainable development is to be mainstreamed

across Government.

(2) Within the context of the private sector and civil society, the

purpose of this Act is to raise awareness of the principles of

sustainable development and to foster increased participation of civil

society as well as that of all social actors in main-streaming

sustainable development.

The provisions of this Act and of any subsidiary legislation

made thereunder shall also apply, in accordance with the provisions of

the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as ratified

by the Law of the Sea (Ratification) Act, to an exclusive economic

zone area or an environment protection area as defined in the

Exclusive Economic Zone Act. Any artificial island, installation,

structure, equipment or device therein shall, solely for the purposes of

this Act and any subsidiary legislation made thereunder, be treated as

if they were situated in Malta itself.

(1)

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"department of government" or "department" shall have the same

meaning as that assigned to it in the Public Administration Act;

"government agency" or "agency" shall have the same meaning

as that assigned to it by the Public Administration Act;

"government entity" or "entity" shall have the same meaning as

that assigned to it by the Public Administration Act;

" M i n i s t e r " means the Minister responsible for sustainable

development;

"Ministry” shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it by

the Public Administration Act;

"public administration" shall have the same meaning as that

assigned to it by the Public Administration Act;

"strategy" means Malta’s National Sustainable Development

Strategy, as this may be amended and, or updated from time to

time;

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

"sustainable development" means development that meets the

needs of the present without compromising the ability of future

generations to meet their own needs.

PART II

Competent Authority

The Office of the Prime Minister shall be designated as the

competent authority for the purposes of this Act

Provided that the Prime Minister may by notice in the

Gazette designate another entity as the competent authority for the

purposes of this Act.

The

competent

authority

shall

have

the

following

functions

(a) to ensure the development and implementation of

Malta’s sustainable development strategy;

(b) to revise the said strategy in line with national,

European Union and international developments and to

establish the direction the revised strategy is to adopt;

(c) to ensure that the provisions of the strategy are

implemented in a timely manner by the responsible

actors;

(d) to develop a set of indicators for measuring the

progress achieved in the area of sustainable

development, and their progressive revision;

(e) to advocate sustainable development across the public

administration, the private sector and society in

general;

(f)

to review Government and specific Ministry policies,

plans, programmes and projects to ensure that they are

in line with the strategy and to ensure that all

Ministries and line entities within the public

administration factor sustainable development in their

workings;

(g) to identify any relevant process or policy which may

be undermining sustainable development and propose

alternative processes or policies to the Government for

adoption;

(h) to perform audits to evaluate how the public

administration has integrated the principles of

sustainable development in its policies, plans,

programmes and projects;

(i)

to identify trends which may significantly give rise to

unsustainable development outcomes and which will

not be reversed on the basis of current or planned

action, and recommend action to reverse such trends;

(j)

to encourage and stimulate good practices in the use

and sustainable management of natural resources, in

particular their minimal use and maximum re-use in an

environmentally sustainable manner;

(k) to commit itself to work closely with Local Councils

and other stakeholders for the promotion of

sustainable development at a local level;

(l)

to engage in active consultation with all stakeholders;

and

(m) to carry out any other task that may, from time to time,

be requested by the Minister in respect of sustainable

development.

(1) In carrying out its functions under article 5, the

competent authority shall, in respect of sustainable development,

be empowered to

(a) set recommendations to be achieved at a national,

local, sectoral, entity or any other level deemed

appropriate;

(b) initiate, promote, sponsor and encourage projects,

studies, research, training, awareness initiatives and

any other activities which exemplify sustainable

development practices;

(c) make recommendations to the Minister on matters

related to sustainable development for adoption by

Government;

(d) request information from the public administration;

(e) establish and direct subcommittees to undertake

various tasks;

(f)

make its own rules of procedure, including procedures

of subcommittees; and

(g) propose directives to the Principal Permanent

Secretary in terms of the Public Administration Act

and, or measures related, amongst others, but not

solely, to public procurement and sustainable

production and consumption patterns to the Permanent

Secretary in the Ministry responsible for Finance in

terms of the Public Finance Management Act.

(2) Without prejudice to any of its responsibilities, the

competent authority shall have the power to delegate to any

department, agency or entity any one or more functions listed in

article 5 or any of the powers listed in sub-article (1). Any

delegation made in pursuance of this sub-article shall be in writing

and shall be published in the Gazette.

PART III

Duties of the Public Administration

(1) The public administration shall respond to any request

from the competent authority for

(a) information, both of a qualitative and quantitative

nature;

(b) inputs into the formulation, revision or monitoring of

any strategy or strategies, policy or policies or any

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

other initiative related to sustainable development;

(c) any other form of input that may, from time to time, be

required in respect of sustainable development.

(2)

(a) Every Ministry shall have a Sustainable Development

Coordinator.

(b) The Sustainable Development Coordinator shall

provide the competent authority with any input it may

require in fulfilment of its functions listed in article 5,

the powers listed in article 6 and duties listed in sub-

article (1) respectively. Such input shall be in a

consolidated format reflecting the approved position

of the Ministry.

(c) The Permanent Secretary within each Ministry shall be

the Sustainable Development Coordinator in respect of

such Ministry.

(3)

(a) Every department of government, agency or entity

shall have a Sustainable Development Focal Point.

(b) The Sustainable Development Focal Point shall assist

the Sustainable Development Coordinator in

developing the Ministry’s position in respect of any

request by the competent authority

(c) The Director responsible for policy development

within each Ministry and the Head of each government

agency and entity shall be the Sustainable

Development Focal Point.

(4) The competent authority shall be entitled to request any

information directly from the Sustainable Development Focal

(5) Each department of government, agency or entity shall state

in a special section of its annual report

(a) the manner in which it has responded to directives

received from the competent authority;

(b) the specific objectives it has set to achieve alignment

with the strategy in order to contribute to the goal of

sustainable development and its contributions towards

the implementation of the strategy;

(c) the specific activities or interventions it has

undertaken to achieve the objectives referred to in

article 5(b) and to quantify the benefits accrued

thereof.

(6) Within the context of sub-article (5), the Principal

Permanent Secretary shall be entitled to request the competent

authority to review, from time to time, any such reports in so far as

related to the provisions of this Act.

PART IV

Guardian of Future Generations

(1) There shall be a Guardian of Future Generations,

hereinafter referred to as "the Guardian" with the aim of safeguarding

inter-generational and intra-generational sustainable development in

Malta.

(2) The Guardian shall be a Commission composed of the

following persons

(a) a chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister;

(b) a person having knowledge of, and experience in the

Voluntary Organisations sector, appointed by the

Minister;

(c) a person with knowledge of, and experience in,

commerce, economy and industry appointed by the

Minister following consultations with the Malta

Council for Economic and Social Development;

(d) a person with knowledge of, and experience in, social

and community affairs appointed by the Minister

following consultations with the Malta Council for

Economic and Social Development.

(e) a person with knowledge of, and experience in

environmental matters appointed by the Minister.

(3)

(a) The Guardian shall convene at least every quarter.

(b) The Permanent Secretary responsible for Sustainable

Development and the Head of the Strategic Policy

Secretariat may attend meetings of the Guardian, on an

observer status, without a vote.

(4)

The Guardian shall have the mandate to

(a) promote sustainable development advocacy across

national policy making, legislation and practices;

(b) develop a scientific research network that could

positively contribute towards the sustainability of

society;

(c) develop audits of various areas or sectors which are

deemed

to

contribute

towards

sustainable

development;

(d) propose goals and actions to government entities for

them to take up in order to contribute towards the goal

of sustainable development;

(e) permeate concepts of sustainable development within

the private sector;

(f)

encourage the participation of non-governmental

organizations in sustainable development advocacy;

(g) consider requests from the public as to policy matters

which can positively contribute to sustainable

development;

(h) to request any government entity to provide data or

information or to collect data or information about any

topic that could have a bearing on sustainable

development;

(i)

foster sustainable development principles and actions

across Maltese society; and

(j)

direct the focus of the competent authority to

safeguard future generations.

PART V

Mainstreaming Sustainable Development

(1) There shall be a Sustainable Development Network,

hereinafter referred to as "the Network" with the aim of promoting

sustainable development in Malta.

(2)

The Network shall be made up of the following persons

(a) a chairperson appointed by the Prime Minister;

(b) a deputy chairperson appointed by the Minister;

(c) the Sustainable Development Coordinators responsible

for economic, social and environmental issues;

(d) a person from the Non-Governmental Organisations

sector having knowledge of and experience in

environmental matters appointed by the Minister;

(e) a person with knowledge of, and experience in,

commerce, economy and industry appointed by the

Minister following consultations with the Malta

Council for Economic and Social Development;

(f)

a person with knowledge of, and experience in, social

and community affairs appointed by the Minister

following consultations with the Malta Council for

Economic and Social Development.

(3) The Network shall convene as required by the competent

authority at least every quarter.

(4) The Network shall endeavour to set up a number of sub-

committees that can promote the economic, social and

environmental dimensions of sustainable development and that shall

consist of representatives of the social partners, actors and those

with a specific interest in the area.

(1) The competent authority shall endeavour to foster a

higher level of knowledge and education in sustainable

development across all strata of society.

(2) The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development and

the Malta Council for Science and Technology shall propose to the

Guardian a series of sectoral initiatives which the competent authority

should give priority to.

(3) The University of Malta and the Malta College of Arts,

Sciences and Technology shall promote sustainable development

across all courses.

(4) The Principal Permanent Secretary shall promote

sustainable development through training courses for public

administration employees as well as through other initiatives.

(5)

The competent authority shall also engage in other

initiatives aimed at fostering sustainable development across the

whole spectrum of society.

(1) The competent authority shall endeavour to develop a

working relationship with the Malta Council for Economic and

Social Development with a view to mainstream the principles of

sustainable development within its deliberations and within the

sectors represented on this Council.

(2) The Malta Council for Economic and Social Development

shall propose to the Network a series of sectoral initiatives which

the competent authority should give priority to.

(3) The competent authority shall endeavour to develop a

working relationship with any other stakeholders with a view to

mainstream the principles of sustainable development within their

captive audience.

PART VI

General Provisions

The competent authority shall act on the policy direction

that may, from time to time, be provided by the Prime Minister.

The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of

implementing the provisions of this Act and in particular, but

without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, to further

promote the entrenchment of sustainable development practices

across the public administration, the private sector and civil society

in general, which regulations may also make provision in respect of

matters that are consequential or incidental to the provisions of this

Act.

Without prejudice to any provision of this Act granting the

Minister the power to make regulations, the Minister may, subject to

the provisions of the Exclusive Economic Zone Act, from time to

time, make, amend, substitute or repeal regulations for the purpose of

regulating, prescribing or otherwise providing for any matters

regulated by or under this Act or by or under any subsidiary legislation

made thereunder, in respect of an exclusive economic zone area or an

environment protection area as defined in the Exclusive Economic

Zone Act or any activities therein including, but not limited, to the

applicability or otherwise of this Act and, or of any subsidiary

legislation made thereunder.

The competent authority shall, not later than three months

after the end of each financial year, make and transmit to the

Minister a report dealing generally with the activities of the

competent authority during that financial year and containing such

information relating to the proceedings and policy of the competent

authority as the Minister may from time to time require. The

Minister shall cause a copy of any such report to be laid on the

Ta b l e o f t h e H o u s e a n d a d e b a t e h e l d t h e r e o n a s s o o n a s

practicable.