Regulations, 2022

L.N. 241 of 2022

ATTORNEY GENERAL ORDINANCE

(CAP. 90)

STATE ADVOCATE ACT

(CAP. 603)

Prosecution of Offences (Transitory Provisions) (Amendment)

Regulations, 2022

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 3(c) of the

Attorney General Ordinance and by article 1 of the State Advocate

Act, the Minister responsible for Justice has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Prosecution of Citation and

Offences (Transitory Provisions) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 and commencement.

these regulations shall be read and construed as one with the S.L. 90.01.

Prosecution of Offences (Transitory Provisions) Regulations, S.L. 603.01.

hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

These regulations shall come into force on the 1 st October

(2)

2022.

The Schedule to the principal regulations shall be amended Amends the

Schedule to the

by the following

principal

regulations.

(a) paragraph (i) of item 1 thereof, shall be substituted by

the following

"(i) Attempts or conspiracy to commit or complicity

in the offences mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d),

(e), (f), (g) or (h) above.";

(b)

in item 1A thereof

(i) in the Maltese version of the first paragraph

thereof, the words "bħala Qorti ta’ istruttura kriminali"

shall be substituted by the words "bħala qorti istruttorja";

and

(ii) paragraph (h) thereof, shall be substituted by

the following

"(h) attempts or conspiracy to commit or

complicity in the offences mentioned in paragraphs

(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g) above.";

(c) immediately after item 1A thereof, there shall be

added the following new item

"1B. The Attorney General shall have the power

to decide whether a prosecution shall or shall not be

instituted in the following categories of offences when

the charges are to be filed in the Court of Magistrates as

a court of criminal judicature or in the Court of

Magistrates as a court of criminal inquiry on or after the

1 st October 2022

(a) forgery of Government debentures,

forgery of Government, judicial or official acts

and counterfeiting of the public seal of Malta

under sub-title I of Title V of Part II of Book First

of the Criminal Code;

(b) forgery of acts by public officer under

sub-title II of Title V of Part II of Book First of

the Criminal Code and forgery or uttering of

currency under sub-title III of Title V of Part II of

Book First of the Criminal Code;

(c) prostituting of descendant under age

by ascendant, of spouse under age or of minor by

husband or wife or tutor, of descendant or spouse

of age, by ascendant or husband or wife under

sub-title I of Title VII of Part II of Book First of

the Criminal Code;

(d) instigation with violence of persons

under age to prostitution or to participate in a

pornographic performance, inducing persons

under age to prostitution or to participation in a

pornographic performance, participation in sexual

activities with persons under the age of sixteen

(16) years, unlawful sexual activities, compelling

or inducing a person of age to prostitution, non-

consensual act of a sexual nature, meeting a child

following sexual grooming etc., advertisement of

sexual tourism under sub-title II of Title VII of

Part II of Book First of the Criminal Code;

(e) female genital mutilation, enforced

sterilization, forced marriage, luring of a person

to the territory of another State to marry

forcefully under sub-title IX of Title VIII of Part

II of Book First of the Criminal Code;

(f) causing explosion likely to endanger

life or property, discharge etc. of lethal device,

possession, use etc. of nuclear material, use of

radioactive material, lethal device or nuclear

facility with intent to cause death, unlawful

possession of radioactive material or making or

possession of a lethal device, setting on fire of

arsenals, etc., arson endangering life, arson to the

common danger, arson without danger of life,

arson of vineyards, etc., destruction by the

springing of a mine, exhibition of false lights,

etc., with danger to navigation and setting on fire

of one’s own property under sub-title IV of Title

IX of Part II of Book First of the Criminal Code;

(g) illicit importation of radioactive waste

under article 39 of the Nuclear Safety and

Radiation Protection Act;

(h) attempt or conspiracy to commit or

complicity in the offences mentioned in

paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g)

above.";

(d) immediately after sub-item (2) of item 3 thereof,

there shall be added the following new sub-item

"(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of item 2,

the Executive Police shall not on or after the 1 st October

2022 institute or pursue any prosecution for the crimes

listed in item 1B in the absence of a decision to prosecute

having been taken by the Attorney General."; and

(e)

immediately after item 3 thereof, there shall be added

the following new item

"4. In this Schedule any reference to an offence

provided in the Criminal Code or in any other law shall,

unless the context otherwise requires, be read and

construed as an indication of that offence through a

reference to the marginal note of the article which

prescribes it and any discrepancy between the marginal

note and the content of the article shall have no effect

on the inclusion in this Schedule of the offence as

described in the actual text of the relative article.".

€0.36