Data Protection (Processing of Personal Data in the Police Sector)

L.N. 146 of 2016

DATA PROTECTION ACT

(CAP. 440)

Data Protection (Processing of Personal Data in the Police Sector)

(Amendment) Regulations, 2016

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 5 and 54(m)

of the Data Protection Act, the Minister for Social Dialogue,

Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, after consultation with the

Minister for Home Affairs and National Security and the Information

and Data Protection Commissioner, has made the following

regulations

The title of these regulations is the Data Protection Citation.

(Processing of Personal Data in the Police Sector) (Amendment)

Regulations, 2016, and these regulations shall be read and construed

as one with the Data Protection (Processing of Personal Data in the S.L. 440.05

Police Sector) hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

In regulation 2 of the principal regulations, immediately Amends

after the definition "Act" there shall be added the following new regulation

the principal

definition

regulations.

"body exercising police powers" means the Police,

Customs Department or other authority that is authorised by

national law to detect, prevent and investigate offences or

criminal activities and to exercise authority and take coercive

measures in the context of such activities and excludes

authorities, bodies, agencies or units dealing especially with

national security issues. For the purpose of these regulations,

the European Police Office ‘Europol’ and Eurojust shall be

considered as bodies exercising Police powers;".

In sub-regulation (2) of regulation 9 of the principal Amends

regulations, for the words "under any law," there shall be substituted regulation

the principal

the words "under any law, any European Union law,".

regulations.

Regulation 10 of the principal regulations shall be Substitutes

regulation 10 of

substituted by the following

the principal

regulations.

"10. (1) Requests for communication of personal data

shall be submitted in writing to the body exercising police

powers, and shall include an indication of the person or body

making the request and of the reason and purpose for which the

request is made unless any other law or any international

agreement to which Malta is a party, provides otherwise.

(2) The body exercising police powers shall reply in

writing informing the body making the request of the decision

taken as to whether the request can be met or not.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation

(1), the body exercising police powers may, without any prior

request being necessary, communicate in writing to the body

exercising police powers within the European Union, personal

data in cases where there are factual reasons to believe that the

data could assist in the detection, prevention or investigation of

any serious criminal offences.

(4) The provisions of sub-regulation (3) shall also apply

to communication of personal data with other bodies established

under European Union law, in so far as the exchange of

information refers to a criminal offence within their mandate.

(5) The body exercising police powers shall keep a

record of all personal data communicated, indicating the

following

(a)

the details of the body making the request;

(b)

the purpose and reason for the request;

(c)

the date of transmission of data.

(6) Personal data communicated from bodies exercising

police powers, to other Government Departments or to bodies

established by law, or to other private parties, or to foreign

authorities, shall not be used for purposes other than those

specified in the request for communication of data without the

authorisation of the bodies communicating such data.

(7) When it is necessary that personal data referred to in

sub-regulation (6) be used for purposes other than those for

which it was requested, the recipient shall submit a new request

to the body exercising police powers in accordance with sub-

regulation (1), and that data shall not be used by the recipient

for purposes other than those included in the original request

unless there is written agreement to the new request.".

€0.18