MARAM Board Regulations, 2025

L.N. 180 of 2025

GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

ACT

(CAP. 581)

MARAM Board Regulations, 2025

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 20(2) of the

Gender-Based and Domestic Violence Act, the Minister responsible

for the Foundation for Social Welfare Services has made the following

regulations:-

The title of these regulations is the MARAM Board Citation.

Regulations, 2025.

The following list is a comprehensive list of the Government

entities, bodies or agencies that may participate in the MARAM

Board, appoint designated MARAM officers and refer cases to the

Chairperson of the MARAM Board

The Accident and Emergency Department;

The Department of Probation and Parole;

Director (Child Protection);

The Domestic Violence Services;

The Education Department;

FSWS;

FSWS in Gozo;

The Malta Police Force;

The Mental Health Service;

The Primary Health Care Department;

Sedqa;

STOP! The Violence and Abuse Service;

Victim Support Agency.

€0.90

In these regulations, unless the context requires otherwise

Interpretation.

"Act" means the Gender-Based and Domestic Violence Cap. 581.

Act;

"designated MARAM officers" means officers representing

the entities listed in the Schedule;

"domestic violence services" means the domestic violence

services offered by the Foundation for Social Welfare Services;

"education entity" means any of the Departments of

Education listed in the Schedule to the Education Act;

"entities" means all the agencies or governmental bodies or

entities listed in the Schedule;

"evidence-based risk assessment tool" means an assessment

that evaluates the potential for future harm by relying on tools

that have been scientifically tested for accuracy, reliability and

validity. Risk assessment tools provide structured, evidence-

based questionnaires to classify risk and help predict and prevent

severe outcomes while ensuring a personalised and reliable risk

evaluation;

"FSWS" means the Foundation for Social Welfare Services;

"health entity" means any department or entity falling

under the remit of the Health Ministry;

"MARAM Board" means the Board of Multi-Agency Risk

Assessment Meeting as established by regulation 3;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for the

Foundation for Social Welfare Services;

"Regulation (EU) 2016/679" means Regulation (EU) 2016/

679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of of 27 April

2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the

processing of personal data and on the free movement of such

data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection

Regulation);

"risk assessment" means the structured process of

evaluating the level of risk experienced by victims of domestic

violence;

"victim" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in

the Act;

"voluntary organisation" shall have the same meaning as

assigned to it in the Voluntary Organisations Act.

(1) There shall be a board to be known as the MARAM

Board, the functions of which shall be carried out by the MARAM

Board that shall be composed of the following members

(a) a Chairperson who shall be appointed by the Minister

in accordance with regulation 4;

(b) a person who shall occupy the post of Deputy

Chairperson as appointed by the Chairperson of the MARAM

Board from amongst the designated MARAM officers;

(c) designated MARAM officers, who shall be duly

appointed to represent entities listed in the Schedule, which

officers may only be replaced by other officers of the same

entity

Provided that the Chairperson shall have the

discretion to invite other professionals or officers who may be

deemed necessary during the meeting

Provided further that the Chairperson may invite

other officials from public services and voluntary organisations

working in the field of domestic violence and gender-based

violence to participate in the meeting depending on the case;

(d)

coordinators who may be public officers or appointed

after a call, shall be responsible as part of their duties, for the

keeping of the relevant records, taking of minutes of the

meetings and shall carry out such other work related to the

functions of the MARAM Board as may be instructed by the

Chairperson.

(2) Without prejudice to the provisions of these regulations, the

MARAM Board shall regulate its own procedure.

(1) The Minister shall appoint a Chairperson who shall Appointment of

be a person having at least eight (8) years of experience as a the

of the MARAM

professional in the field of domestic violence services. Such Board.

appointment shall be for a period of four (4) years which may be

renewed for further periods of four (4) years each.

(2) The Chairperson of the MARAM Board may be removed

by the Minister if such person is no longer competent and fit to

continue performing their functions and duties in accordance with

these regulations.

The members shall be appointed for three (3) years each, Term of

appointment of

which period may be renewed

the MARAM

Board members.

Provided that this period shall only apply if such members

are still serving in the entity that they represent

Provided further that where such members are no longer

serving in or employed by the same entity, their appointment on the

MARAM Board shall be terminated upon termination of their

employment.

Each member may be removed by the Minister

Disqualifica-

tion.

(a) if the Chairperson informs him that he is of the

opinion that a member breached any of the policies established

by the MARAM Board; or

(b) where a member has been convicted of a criminal

offence affecting public trust, or related to domestic violence or

any kind of violence against a third party or if he has been

convicted of an offence punishable by not less than six (6)

months imprisonment.

(1) The MARAM Board meeting shall be chaired by the MARAM Board

Chairperson, or in his absence, by the Deputy Chairperson, or by a Meetings.

member elected for the particular meeting by the other members

present at the meeting.

(2) The MARAM Board shall meet as often as necessary or

expedient, but not less than twice (2) a month.

(3) Meetings shall be convened by the Chairperson on his own

initiative or at the written request of any member.

(4) The MARAM Board shall act upon the final

recommendation of the Chairperson who is presiding over the meeting

and such recommendation shall always be taken in the best interest of

the victims.

(5) There shall be officers who shall serve as coordinators,

which officers shall have more than two (2) years of work-related

experience in the field of domestic violence and it shall be the duty of

the coordinators to make the necessary preparations for the MARAM

Board meetings and to keep the minutes of these meetings and

coordinate how such recommendations shall be executed. The

coordinators shall also have a duty to ensure that the original copies of

the minutes are signed by the Chairperson or the Deputy-Chairperson,

whosoever presided that meeting, however in any case, not later than

the following meeting and shall also ensure that such minutes are kept

both electronically and in printed format. Copies of the minutes shall

be distributed in electronic format to every member who was present

during the MARAM Board. The coordinators shall also assume any

function or role which may be conferred on them in the best interest of

the performance of MARAM Board’s functions.

(6) The designated MARAM officers shall attend all the

meetings of the MARAM Board, except for reasons that the

Chairperson deems justified.

(7) The designated MARAM officers shall inform the

coordinators in writing if they are unable to attend a MARAM Board

meeting, and request that their substitute designated MARAM officer

attends in their stead.

(8) The discussion of the case shall be recorded in the minutes

prepared by one (1) of the coordinators mentioned in sub-regulation

(5).

(9) An action plan shall be drawn for each case, which shall

form part of the records of MARAM Board documentation.

(10) Other public services and voluntary organisations working

in the field of domestic violence and gender-based violence may be

invited to participate during the sittings of the MARAM Board as the

case may be.

Due to the exclusive nature of the meeting on high-risk Confidentiality.

cases involving victims of domestic violence, the acts and documents

of the MARAM Board, including their content, shall be considered

confidential and strictly inaccessible to unauthorised individuals. No

person shall access, view or obtain copies thereof, except when duly

authorised by the victim, or when such information or documentation

is required to be provided under any law. The MARAM Board, shall

ensure that the records that include personal data are stored and

processed in accordance with the Data Protection Act and the record Cap. 586.

retention policy.

(1) The designated MARAM officers who need to access Request for

information held by the MARAM Board shall send a request via email information.

to the Chairperson of the MARAM Board, with reasons justifying such

request.

(2) In the performance of its functions and duties, the

Chairperson of the MARAM Board shall have the power to access,

and, or request any information, limited to what is necessary for the

purposes of these regulations, from any person, including those in the

field of public services and education and health entities, which

safeguard the interests of victims, potential victims, perpetrators and

minors. Any information requested in accordance with these

regulations, shall be sent to the Chairperson or the coordinators by not

later than twenty-fours (24) hours prior to the meeting indicated in the

said request

Provided that if the requested information is not provided

within the stipulated time frame, such default shall be minuted in the

minutes of the following meeting and shall be referred to the relevant

entities.

(1) These regulations shall be without prejudice to the Data Protection.

applicability of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Cap. 586.

Act, including the regulations made thereunder, and the fundamental

rights and freedoms of the data subjects.

(2) The MARAM Board acting in its capacity of a controller

shall perform the relevant data processing operations which are limited

to the extent necessary and proportionate to the objectives pursued by

law.

(3) The MARAM Board shall process personal data in full

compliance with all the principles relating to the processing of

personal data and integrate the necessary safeguards into the

processing in order to protect the rights and freedoms of the data

subjects.

(4) The MARAM Board, whilst taking into account the nature,

scope, context and purposes of processing, as well as the risks of

varying likelihood and severity for the rights and freedoms of the data

subjects, at the time of the determination of the means for processing

as well as at the time of the processing itself, shall implement

appropriate technical and organisational measures in an effective

manner and integrate the necessary safeguards into the processing, in

order to protect the rights of the data subjects and to ensure a level of

security appropriate to the risk.

(5) For the purposes of ensuring and of being able to

demonstrate compliance with the principles relating to the processing

of personal data, the MARAM Board shall implement the appropriate

data protection policies, which policies shall be periodically reviewed

and updated where necessary.

(6) The data protection officer designated by the MARAM

Board in accordance with Article 37 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679

shall be involved and consulted in a timely manner on all issues in

relation to the protection of personal data processed for the purposes of

these regulations.

(1) The MARAM Board may restrict the rights and

obligations provided for in Articles 12 to 22 and Article 34 of

Regulation (EU) 2016/679, as well as the principles of data processing

in so far as these correspond to the rights and obligations provided for

in Articles 12 to 22 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, when such a

restriction respects the essence of fundamental rights and freedoms

and is a necessary and proportionate measure to safeguard the interests

of persons who are, or may be, at risk of gender-based and, or

domestic violence.

(2) Before the MARAM Board applies a restriction in

accordance with sub-regulation (1), the MARAM Board shall assess

the necessity and proportionality of such measure based on the specific

circumstances of each individual case. The necessity and

proportionality assessment shall be documented and made available to

the Information and Data Protection Commissioner, when and as

requested.

(3) The MARAM Board shall inform the data subject of the

application of a restriction within the timeframe as established in

Article 12(3) of Regulation (EU) 2016/679, unless this may be

prejudicial to the purpose of the restriction

Provided that the MARAM Board shall justify the alleged

prejudice incurred to the Information and Data Protection

Commissioner, when and as requested.

(4) The MARAM Board shall apply the restriction for as long

as the reason justifying such measure remains applicable. Where the

reason for a restriction no longer applies, the MARAM Board shall lift

the restriction, inform the affected data subject, and comply with its

obligations as established in Regulation (EU) 2016/679 without undue

delay.

(5) The MARAM Board shall annually review the application

of a restriction invoked in terms of sub-regulation (1) and depending

on the outcome of such review, inform the data subject accordingly.

(6) The MARAM Board shall keep a register to record the

restrictions applied in relation to the requests made by the data

subjects. The register shall include information in relation to the data

subject, the right requested to be exercised that was restricted and the

reason of such restriction. Restriction of rights in accordance with

Article 34 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 shall also be recorded in the

register.

Every entity listed in the Schedule shall be bound to enter a Data Sharing

data sharing agreement with the Data Controller of the MARAM Agreement.

Board, in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2018/

1725 of the European Parliament and the Council of the 23 of October

2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing

of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies

and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC)

No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC and the Data Protection Cap. 586.

Act, to ensure conformity.

The functions of the MARAM Board shall be the Functions of the

MARAM

following

Board.

(a) to safeguard the interests of persons who may be at

risk of domestic violence by establishing a procedure that

foresees a risk of domestic violence;

(b) to make use of the risk assessment tool based on the

evidence established in accordance with the Act in order that the

MARAM Board is duly and promptly informed about high-risk

cases of domestic violence entities;

(c) to encourage all the entities listed in the Schedule to

execute the action plan recommended by the MARAM Board

and provide feedback within a timely manner in accordance with

the merits of the case;

(d) to provide recommendations about the action plans of

the cases reviewed by the MARAM Board, to the entities listed

in the Schedule;

(e) to advise the Government generally on the

formulation of policies with regards to the prevention of

domestic violence in Malta and to make recommendations to the

Government on action which in the opinion of the MARAM

Board would be expedient in relation to matters falling within its

functions;

(f) to promote a comprehensive and sustainable use of

resources for the safety of victims of domestic violence by

means of information and data sharing on the victims,

perpetrators and their dependants;

(g) to optimise resources for the safety of victims of

domestic violence in Malta, through a comprehensive system of

sustainable use of resources and meetings;

(h) to ensure a system which can provide policy and

guidance to organisations that have the responsibility in

assessing and managing family-violence risk; and

(i) to promote an effective and reliable system for the

protection from domestic violence.

(1) The MARAM Board shall evaluate every case

brought to it by every body, agency and entity listed in the First

Schedule.

(2) The risk assessment required by the MARAM Board shall

be based on the evidence-based risk assessment tool that is used to

assess the risk of the domestic violence cases. Those resulting in high

risk shall be referred to the MARAM Board.

(3) The formal risk assessment shall be carried out by

professionals trained by the appointed agency in accordance with the

Act and the Criminal Code.

(4) The MARAM Board shall analyse each case which, in the

opinion of the professional involved in the drawing up of the formal

risk assessment, may be potentially high risk, even if the victim

refuses to give his consent to the assessor and, or professional.

(1) Any case of domestic violence aggression reported

within twelve (12) months from the last referral shall be referred again

to the MARAM Board for recommendations, even where the second

referral does not reach the local minimum level of high risk as

established by the risk-assessment tool.

(2) When an entity, body or agency refers a case to the

MARAM Board, the victim shall be notified. The MARAM Board

shall always be informed of the latest intentions expressed by the

victim, and the respective designated MARAM officer shall make

every possible attempt to establish contact with the victim prior to the

meeting of the MARAM Board. In case there is no contact, the reasons

as to why such contact was not made shall be given during the

meeting.

(3) Without prejudice to any other provision of these

regulations, nothing precludes any entities which are not listed in the

Schedule from referring cases to the MARAM Board, including the

Office of the Commissioner on Gender-Based Violence and Domestic

Violence.

(1) The designated MARAM officers present for the Duty of the

meeting shall establish a mutually agreed action plan with the aim to designated

MARAM

reduce the identified risks and with due consideration for the welfare officers.

of the victim and their dependents.

(2) Any action unanimously agreed by designated MARAM

officers shall be the direct and sole responsibility of the respective

entities they represent, and such actions shall be executed in a timely

manner in accordance with the merits of the case

Provided that in situations where the victims and their

dependants face an elevated risk of severe harm or fatality, the entities

shall collectively acknowledge the assigned actions and give them the

highest priority.