Regulations, 2025

L.N. 70 of 2025

POLICE ACT

(CAP. 164)

Simplification of Exchange of Information between National Law

Enforcement Authorities and other Authorities of the Member

States of the European Union having similar powers

Regulations, 2025

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by article 82 of the

Police Act, the Minister responsible for the police has made the

following regulations:-

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

Exchange of Information between National Law Enforcement scope.

Authorities and other Authorities of the Member States of the

European Union having similar powers Regulations, 2025.

(2) These regulations transpose Directive (EU) 2023/977 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 on the

exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities of

Member States and repealing Council Framework Decision 2006/960/

JHA.

(3) The scope of these regulations is to establish rules on the

exchange of information between the competent law enforcement

authorities for the purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating

criminal offences in particular on

(a) the establishment or designation and the organisation,

tasks, composition and capabilities of the International Relations

Unit, including on the deployment and operation of a single

electronic case management system;

(b) requests for information submitted to the Single

Points of Contact of other Member States, in particular on the

content of such requests, the provision of information pursuant

to such requests, the working languages of the Single Points of

Contact of other Member States, mandatory time limits for

providing requested information and the reasons for the refusal

of such requests;

(c) the provision by competent law enforcement

authorities, on their own initiative, of relevant information to the

Single Points of Contact of other Member States or to the

competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States,

in particular the situations and the manner in which such

information is to be provided;

(d) the default channel of communication to be used for

all exchanges of information under these regulations and the

information to be provided to the Single Points of Contact of

other Member States in relation to the exchange of information

directly between the competent law enforcement authorities.

Designated Law Enforcement Authorities pursuant to regulation

7(2)

(a)

Malta Police Force;

(b) Customs Department within the Malta Tax and

Customs Administration.

€1.80

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

"competent law enforcement authority" means any police

or customs officer within the Malta Tax and Customs

Administration or other authority competent under national law

to exercise authority and to take coercive measures for the

purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating criminal

offences or any authority that takes part in joint entities set up

between two (2) or more Member States for the purpose of

preventing, detecting or investigating criminal offences, but

excludes agencies or units dealing especially with national

security issues and liaison officers seconded in accordance with

Article 47 of the Convention implementing the Schengen

Agreement of 14 June 1985 between the Governments of the

States of the Benelux Economic Union, the Federal Republic of

Germany and the French Republic on the gradual abolition of

checks at their common borders;

"designated law enforcement authority" means a competent

law enforcement authority that is authorised to submit requests

for information to the Single Points of Contact of other Member

States in accordance with regulation 7;

"directly accessible information" means information held in

a database that can be directly accessed by the International

Relations Unit, or the Single Point of Contact of another Member

State or by a competent law enforcement authority of the

Member State from whom information is requested;

"Europol Regulation" means Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of

the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 May 2016 on

the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation

(Europol) and replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/

371/JHA, 2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and

2009/968/JHA;

"indirectly accessible information" means information that

the International Relations Unit, or a Single Point of Contact of

another Member State or a competent law enforcement authority

of the Member State from whom information is requested may

obtain from other public authorities or from private parties

established in such Member State, where permitted by and in

accordance with national law, without coercive measures;

"information" means any content concerning one (1) or

more natural or legal persons, facts or circumstances relevant to

competent law enforcement authorities for the purpose of

carrying out their tasks under national law of preventing,

detecting or investigating criminal offences, including criminal

intelligence;

"information available" means directly

accessible

information and indirectly accessible information;

"International Relations Unit" means the International

Relations Unit within the Malta Police Force and which shall be

the Single Point of Contact as established in regulation 4;"

"personal data" shall have the same meaning as assigned to

it in regulation 2 of Data Protection (Processing of Personal Data S.L. 586.08.

by Competent Authorities for the Purposes of the Prevention,

Investigation, Detection or Prosecution of Criminal Offences or

the execution of Criminal Penalties) Regulations;

"serious criminal offence" means any of the following

(a) an offence as referred to in Article 2(2) of the

EU Council Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on the

European arrest warrant and the surrender procedures

between Member States 2002/584/JHA;

(b) an offence as referred to in Article 3(1) or (2) of

Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and

of the Council of 11 May 2016 on the European Union

Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol) and

replacing and repealing Council Decisions 2009/371/JHA,

2009/934/JHA, 2009/935/JHA, 2009/936/JHA and 2009/

968/JHA;

"Single Point of Contact of another Member State" means

the central entity having law enforcement powers established by

another Member State with the scope of exchanging information

under these regulations.

(1)

These regulations shall not apply to exchanges of Applicability.

information between the competent law enforcement authorities for

the purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating criminal offences

that are specifically regulated by other Union legal acts and national

legislation.

(2) These regulations shall not be construed as limiting the

adoption of bilateral or multilateral arrangements on cooperation and

further facilitation of exchange of information with other Member

States or third countries for the purpose of preventing, detecting or

investigating criminal offences.

(3) These regulations do not impose any obligation on national

law enforcement authorities to

(a)

obtain information by means of coercive measures;

(b) store information for the sole purpose of providing it

to the competent law enforcement authorities of other Member

States;

(c) provide information to the competent law

enforcement authorities of other Member States to be used as

evidence in judicial proceedings.

(4) These regulations do not establish any right for national

law enforcement authorities to use the information obtained pursuant

to these regulations as evidence in judicial proceedings without the

consent of the Competent law enforcement authorities that provide the

data

Provided that this sub-regulation shall apply mutatis

mutandis with respect to the use of evidence in judicial proceedings

whereby consent shall be obtained from other Member States.

It shall be ensured that all exchanges of information in

accordance with these regulations are

(a) provided to the Single Points of Contact of other

Member States or the competent law enforcement authorities of

other Member States in accordance with the principle of

availability;

(b) subject to equivalent conditions when requesting

similar information from, and providing similar information to,

the Single Points of Contact of other Member States and the

competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States

in accordance with the principle of equivalent access;

(c) protected in accordance with confidentiality

requirements laid out in the Professional Secrecy Act and any Cap. 377.

other national law or internal policies in accordance with the

principle of confidentiality;

(d) provided to another Member State or to Europol only

with the consent of, and in accordance with the conditions

imposed on its use by, the Member State or third country that

initially provided the information in accordance with the

principle of data ownership;

(e) erased or rectified or their processing is restricted, as

appropriate, and that any recipient is notified without delay,

where personal data exchanged are found to be inaccurate,

incomplete or no longer up to date in accordance with the

principle of data reliability.

(1) The International Relations Unit shall be the central Establishment

entity responsible for coordinating and facilitating the exchange of or

and tasks and

information in accordance with these regulations.

capabilities of

the International

Relations Unit.

(2) The International Relations Unit shall be equipped and

empowered to carry out at least all of the following tasks

(a) receiving and evaluating requests for information

submitted in accordance with regulation 7(7) in the languages

used by the Single Point of Contact;

(b) channelling requests for information to the relevant

designated law enforcement authorities established in the

Schedule and, where necessary, coordinating among them the

processing of such requests and the provision of information

pursuant to such requests;

(c) coordinating the analysis and structuring of

information with a view to providing it to the Single Points of

Contact of other Member States and, where applicable, to the

competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States;

(d) providing, on request or on its own initiative,

information to other Member States in accordance with

regulations 8 and 10;

(e) refusing to provide information in accordance with

regulation 9 and, where necessary, requesting clarification or

specifications in accordance with regulation 9(6);

(f)

sending requests for information to the Single Points

of Contact of other Member States in accordance with regulation

7 and, where necessary, providing clarification or specifications

in accordance with regulation 9(6).

(3) The International Relations Unit shall have access to all

information available to the competent law enforcement authorities as

necessary to carry out its tasks under these regulations.

(4) The International Relations Unit shall carry out its tasks

twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. It shall be

provided with qualified staff, appropriate operational tools, technical

and financial resources, infrastructure, and capabilities, including for

translation, necessary to carry out its tasks in an adequate, effective,

and rapid manner.

(5) For the purposes of regulation 12, the Single Point of

Contact shall be granted judicial authorisations by the duty magistrate,

who shall be available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a

week, or the court hearing the case

Provided that the designated law enforcement authorities

listed in the Schedule shall collectively determine the organisation and

the composition of the Single Point of Contact in such a manner that it

can carry out its tasks in an efficient and effective manner.

(6) The International Relations Unit shall be composed of staff

whose involvement is necessary for the adequate and rapid exchange

of information, including at least the following in so far as Malta is

bound by the relevant law or international agreement to establish or

designate such units or bureaux

(a) the Europol National Unit established by Article 7 of

the Europol Regulation;

(b) the SIRENE Bureau as established by the Schengen

Information System (SIS) Regulations;

(c) the Interpol National Central Bureau established by

Article 32 of the Constitution of the International Criminal

Police Organisation – Interpol;

(7) The International Relations Unit shall inform the European

Commission where there are changes in relation to its establishment or

designation.

Staff pertaining to the International Relations Unit shall be

provided with adequate and regular training and shall be qualified to

carry out the following

(a) the use of data processing tools used within the

International Relations Unit, in particular Europol’s Secure

Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) and the

single electronic case management system;

(b) the application of legislation relevant for the

activities of the International Relations Unit under these

regulations, in particular on data protection matters, on cross-

border cooperation between law enforcement authorities,

including these regulations and the Europol Regulation, and on

the handling of confidential information;

(c) the use of the languages included in the list

established by regulation 7.

(1) Requests for information submitted by the Requests for

International Relations Unit to the Single Point of Contact of another information

the International

Member State shall comply with the requirements established in sub- Relations Unit.

regulations (2) to (6).

(2) Whenever the designated law enforcement authorities

pursuant to the Schedule submit a request for information to the Single

Point of Contact of another Member State, they shall at the same time,

send a copy to the International Relations Unit.

(3) In accordance with established internal guidelines, the

designated law enforcement authorities shall send a copy of a request

for information to the International Relations Unit while submitting

the request to the Single Point of Contact of another Member State,

including in case of

(a) an ongoing highly sensitive investigation for which

the processing of information requires an appropriate level of

confidentiality;

(b) terrorism cases not involving emergency or crisis

management situations;

(c)

the safety of an individual.

(4) Requests for information shall be submitted to the Single

Point of Contact of another Member State only where there are

objective reasons to believe, in accordance with internal guidelines,

that

(a) the requested information is necessary for and

proportionate to achieving the purpose referred to in regulation

1; and

(b) the requested information is available to such other

Member State.

(5) Any request for information submitted to the Single Point

of Contact of another Member State shall specify whether it is urgent

and, if so, it shall give reasons for the urgency. Such requests for

information shall be considered urgent where, having regard to all

relevant facts and circumstances of the case at hand, there are

objective reasons to believe that the requested information is one or

more of the following

(a) essential for the prevention of an immediate and

serious threat to the public security of Malta or another Member

State;

(b) necessary in order to prevent an imminent threat to

life or the physical integrity of a person;

(c) necessary to adopt a decision that might involve the

maintenance of restrictive measures amounting to a deprivation

of liberty;

(d) at imminent risk of losing relevance if not provided

urgently and is considered important for the prevention,

detection, or investigation of criminal offences.

(6) Requests for information submitted to the Single Point of

Contact of another Member State shall contain all necessary details to

allow for their adequate and rapid processing, including at least the

following

(a) a specification of the requested information that is as

detailed as reasonably possible under the given circumstances;

(b) a description of the purpose for which the information

is requested, including a description of the facts and indication of

the underlying offence;

(c) the objective reasons for which it is believed that the

requested information is available to the International Relations

Unit;

(d) an explanation of the connection between the purpose

for which the information is requested and any natural or legal

person or entity to which the information relates, where

applicable;

(e)

the reasons for which the request is considered

urgent, where applicable, in accordance with sub-regulation (5);

(f) restrictions on the use of the information contained in

the request for purposes other than those for which it has been

submitted.

(7) The International Relations Unit shall establish and keep up

to date a list indicating one or more of the languages, including

English, in which it is able to exchange information. This list shall be

provided to the European Commission.

(8) The International Relations Unit shall ensure that requests

for information and information submitted on their own initiative are

provided to the Single Point of Contact of another Member State in

one of the languages included in the list established by such other

Member State.

(9) The competent law enforcement authorities shall, when

providing information on their own initiative, submit that information

in one of the languages included in the list established by the Single

Point of Contact of such other Member State.

(1) The International Relations Unit shall provide the Provision of

information requested in accordance with regulation 7 as soon as information

pursuant to

possible and in any event within the following time limits, as requests

International

applicable

Relations Unit.

(a) eight (8) hours in the case of urgent requests relating

to directly accessible information;

(b) three (3) calendar days in the case of urgent requests

relating to indirectly accessible information;

(c) seven (7) calendar days in the case of all other

requests

Provided that the time limits established in this sub-

regulation shall commence as soon as the request for information is

received.

(2) Without prejudice to any other provision under the Data Cap. 586.

Protection Act or the Data Protection (Processing of Personal Data by S.L. 586.08.

Competent Authorities for the Purposes of the Prevention,

Investigation, Detection or Prosecution of Criminal offences or the

Execution of Criminal Penalties) Regulations, the International

Relations Unit shall exchange information already available to it with

other competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States

as if these were established in Malta.

(3) Where the information may, in accordance with any

relevant provision of Maltese law, be accessed by the International

Relations Unit only pursuant to an authorisation of a judicial authority,

the International Relations Unit shall refrain from communicating the

information to the competent law enforcement authorities of other

Member States, unless judicial authorities authorise the

communication of such information. Such authorisation shall always

be sought whenever the requesting authority requests access to

information connected to any inquiry relating to the in genere, or any

inquest or repertus or whenever the information is required for use as

evidence

Provided that authorisation shall be sought by the Attorney

General whenever a competent law enforcement authority, including

that of another Member State, requests access to information

connected to a closed inquest or repertus.

(4)

The International Relations Unit shall do the following

(a) immediately inform the Single Point of Contact or,

where applicable, the designated law enforcement authority of

the requesting Member State of the expected delay, specifying

the length of the expected delay and the reasons thereof; and

(b) subsequently keep the Single Point of Contact, or

where applicable, the designated law enforcement authority of

the requesting Member State updated and provide the requested

information as soon as possible after obtaining the judicial

authorisation.

(5) The International Relations Unit shall provide the

information requested in accordance with regulation 7 to the Single

Point of Contact or, where applicable, the designated law enforcement

authority of the requesting Member State in the language in which that

request for information was submitted in accordance with regulation

7(7).

(6) The International Relations Unit shall send a copy of the

requested information to the Single Point of Contact of the requesting

Member State at the same time as providing the requested information

to the designated law enforcement authority of such other Member

State.

(7) The International Relations Unit may not send, at the same

time as providing information to the designated law enforcement

authorities of another Member State, a copy of that information to the

Single Point of Contact of such other Member State where it would

jeopardise one or more of the following

(a) an ongoing highly sensitive investigation for which

the processing of information requires an appropriate level of

confidentiality;

(b) terrorism cases not involving emergency or crisis

management situations;

(c)

the safety of an individual.

(1) The International Relations Unit shall only refuse to Refusals of

provide the information requested in accordance with regulation 6, in requests

information.

so far as any of the following reasons apply

(a) the requested information is not available to the

International Relations Unit and the competent law enforcement

authorities of Malta;

(b) the request for information does not meet the

requirements established in regulation 7;

(c) the judicial authorisation required in accordance with

regulation 12 was refused;

(d) the requested information constitutes personal data

other than those falling within the categories of personal data

referred to in regulation 13(b);

(e) the requested information has been found to be

inaccurate, incomplete or no longer up to date and cannot be

provided in accordance with regulation 7(2) and (3) of Data S.L. 586.08.

Protection (Processing of Personal Data by Competent

Authorities for the Purposes of the Prevention, Investigation,

Detection or Prosecution of Criminal Offences or the Execution

of Criminal Penalties) Regulations;

(f) there are objective reasons to believe that the

provision of the requested information would

(i) be contrary to or would harm the essential

interests of the national security of Malta;

(ii) jeopardise the success of an ongoing

investigation of a criminal offence or the safety of an

individual;

(iii) unduly harm the protected important interests

of a legal person;

(g)

the request pertains to

(i) a criminal offence punishable by a maximum

term of imprisonment of one (1) year or less in accordance

with the laws of Malta; or

(ii)

a matter that is not a criminal offence in Malta;

(h) the requested information was initially obtained from

another Member State or a third country and such Member State

or third country has not consented to the provision of the

information.

(2) Due diligence shall be exercised when assessing whether

the request for information submitted to the International Relations

Unit is in accordance with the requirements established in regulation 7,

inter alia when there is a manifest breach of fundamental rights.

(3) Any refusal of a request for information shall affect only

the part of the requested information to which the reasons established

in the sub-regulation (1) relate and shall, where applicable, not affect

the obligation to provide the other parts of the information in

accordance with these regulations.

(4) The refusals and reasons for refusal shall be recorded in the

single electronic case management system for auditing purposes.

(5) The International Relations Unit shall inform the Single

Point of Contact or, where applicable, the designated law enforcement

authority of the requesting Member State, about the refusal of the

request for information, specifying the reasons for such refusal, within

the time limits established in regulation 8(1).

(6) The International Relations Unit shall immediately request,

from the Single Point of Contact or, where applicable, the designated

law enforcement authority of the requesting Member State,

clarification or specifications needed to process a request for

information that otherwise would have to be refused

Provided that the time limits established in regulation 8(1)

shall be suspended from the moment that the Single Point of Contact

or, where applicable, the designated law enforcement authority of the

requesting Member State, receive the request for clarification or

specifications until the moment the requested clarifications or

specifications are provided.

(7) Refusals of requests for information, reasons for such

refusals and requests for clarification or specifications and

clarification or specifications as referred to in sub-regulation (6), as

well as any other communications relating to the requests for

information submitted to the Single Point of Contact of another

Member State, shall be transmitted in the language in which that

request was submitted in accordance with regulation 7(7).

(1) The International Relations Unit may, through the Own-initiative

competent law enforcement authorities, provide information on its provision

information.

own initiative to the Single Points of Contact or to the competent law

enforcement authorities of other Member States, where there are

reasonable grounds for considering that such information could be

relevant to those other Member States for the purpose of preventing,

detecting or investigating criminal offences.

(2) The Commissioner of Police shall issue guidelines for the

International Relations Unit and the designated law enforcement

authorities regarding the own-initiative provision of information.

(3) The International Relations Unit or the competent law

enforcement authorities shall provide, on their own initiative,

information available at their end to the Single Points of Contact or to

the competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States

where there are objective reasons to believe that such information

could be relevant to those other Member States for the purpose of

preventing, detecting or investigating serious criminal offences.

(4) Notwithstanding the provision of sub-regulation (1), the

International Relations Unit or the competent law enforcement

authorities shall not provide information in cases referred to in

regulation 9(1)(c) or (f).

(5) When providing information on its own initiative, the

International Relations Unit shall copy in the Single Point of Contact

of the other Member State when exchanging information with the

competent law enforcement authorities of the other Member State.

(6) When providing information on their own initiative, the

competent law enforcement authorities shall ensure, where

appropriate, that both the International Relations Unit and the Single

Point of Contact of the other Member State are copied in when

information is exchanged.

(7) The competent law enforcement authorities shall send, at

the same time as providing information to the Single Point of Contact

or the competent law enforcement authorities of another Member

State, a copy of such information to the International Relations Unit or

the Single Point of Contact of the other Member State, or the

competent law enforcement authorities of the other Member State, as

the case may be, including in cases of

(a) an ongoing highly sensitive investigation for which

the processing of information requires an appropriate level of

confidentiality;

(b) terrorism cases not involving emergency or crisis

management situations;

(c)

the safety of an individual.

(1) Where the International Relations Unit submits a

request for information directly to a competent law enforcement

authority of another Member State, it shall transmit a copy of such

request to the Single Point of Contact of the other Member State.

(2) The designated law enforcement authorities listed in the

Schedule shall send at the same time, a copy of the information

requested to the International Relations Unit and to the Single Point of

Contact of the other Member State.

(3) The designated law enforcement authorities listed in the

Schedule shall send copies of requests for information and copies of

information to the International Relations Unit and the Single Point of

Contact of another Member State, at the same time as it sends requests

for information or sends information collected in accordance with a

request to the competent law enforcement authorities of another

Member State.

(4) The International Relations Unit or the designated law

enforcement authorities listed in the Schedule may not send copies of

requests or information where it would jeopardise one or more of the

following

(a) an ongoing highly sensitive investigation for which

the processing of information requires an appropriate level of

confidentiality;

(b) terrorism cases not involving emergency or crisis

management situations;

(c)

the safety of an individual.

(1) Judicial authorisation is not required to provide

information to the Single Point of Contact or to the competent law

enforcement authorities of another Member State in exchanges of

information under regulations 7 to 11.

(2) The International Relations Unit shall immediately take all

necessary steps to obtain judicial authorisation as soon as possible in

order to provide the necessary information requested by the Single

Point of Contact or to the competent law enforcement authorities of

other Member States.

(3) Requests for judicial authorisation shall be assessed and

decided upon in accordance with national law.

When providing personal data following a request for Additional rules

information, the International Relations Unit and competent law for

constituting

enforcement authorities shall ensure that

personal data.

(a) the personal data are accurate, complete and up to

date, in accordance with regulation 7(2) of the Data Protection S.L. 586.08.

(Processing of Personal Data by Competent Authorities for the

Purposes of the Prevention, Investigation, Detection or

Prosecution of Criminal Offences or the Execution of Criminal

Penalties) Regulations;

(b) the categories of personal data provided per category

of data subject remain limited to those listed in Section B of

Annex II to the Europol Regulation, and are necessary for and

proportionate to achieving the purpose of the request;

(c) they provide, at the same time and in so far as

possible, the necessary elements enabling the Single Point of

Contact or the competent law enforcement authority of another

Member State to assess the degree of accuracy, completeness and

reliability of the personal data and the extent to which the

personal data are up to date.

(1) The International Relations Unit or designated law Provision of

enforcement authorities listed in the Schedule shall assess, on a case- information

Europol.

by-case basis and subject to Article 7(7) of the Europol Regulation,

whether it is necessary to send a copy of the request for information or

of the information provided to Europol, in so far as the information to

which the communication relates concerns offences falling within the

scope of the objectives of Europol established in Article 3 of the

Regulation.

(2) Prior to sending a copy of a received request for

information or a copy of received information to Europol, the

International Relations Unit or designated law enforcement authorities

listed in the Schedule shall ensure that consent was duly obtained from

the Single Point of Contact or competent law enforcement authorities

of the other Member State or third country.

(3) When a copy of a request for information or a copy of the

information is sent to Europol, the purposes of the processing of the

information and any possible restrictions to such processing pursuant

to Article 19 of the Europol Regulation, shall be duly communicated to

Europol.

(1) The International Relations Unit and the designated

law enforcement authorities listed in the Schedule shall use Europol’s

Secure Information Exchange Network Application (SIENA) as the

default channel to send requests for information, to provide

information pursuant to such requests or to provide information on

their own initiative in accordance with regulations 9 to 13 and 14.

(2) SIENA shall not be used to send requests for information or

to send information on their own or pursuant to a request under

regulations 7 to 11 and 14 in one (1) or more of the following cases

(a) the exchange of information requires the involvement

of third countries or international organisations or there are

objective reasons to believe that such involvement will be

required at a later stage, including through the Interpol

communication channel;

(b) the urgency of the request for information requires

the temporary use of another communication channel;

(c) an unexpected technical or operational incident

prevents the International Relations Unit or the competent law

enforcement authorities from using SIENA to exchange the

information.

(3) It shall be ensured that the International Relations Unit and

all designated law enforcement authorities listed in the Schedule are

directly connected to SIENA, including where appropriate, through

mobile devices, for the purposes of these regulations.

(1) The International Relations Unit shall deploy and

operate a single electronic case management system as a repository

that allows it to carry out its tasks under these regulations. The single

electronic case management system shall have, at a minimum, the

following functions and capabilities

(a) recording the incoming and outgoing requests for

information as referred to in regulations 8 and 11 and any other

communications relating to such requests with Single Points of

Contact and, where applicable, the competent law enforcement

authorities of other Member States, including information about

refusals of requests for information and requests for and the

provision of clarification or specifications as referred to in the

provisions of regulation 9(5) and (6) respectively;

(b) recording the communications between the

International Relations Unit and the competent law enforcement

authorities, pursuant to regulation 5(2)(b);

(c) recording the provisions of information to the

International Relations Unit and, where applicable, to the

competent law enforcement authorities of other Member States

in accordance with regulations 8, 10 and 11;

(d) cross-checking the incoming requests for information

as referred to in regulations 8 and 11 against information

available to the International Relations Unit, including

information provided in accordance with regulations 8(6) and

10(5) and other relevant information recorded in the single

electronic case management system;

(e) ensuring adequate and rapid follow-up to incoming

requests for information as referred to in regulation 7, in

particular with a view to respecting the time limits for the

provision of the requested information established in regulation

8;

(f) be interoperable with SIENA, ensuring in particular,

that incoming communications through SIENA can be directly

recorded in, and that outgoing communications through SIENA

can be directly sent from, the single electronic case management

system;

(g) generating statistics in respect of exchanges of

information under these regulations for evaluation and

monitoring purposes, in particular for the purposes of regulation

18;

(h) logging access and other processing operations in

relation to the information contained in the single electronic case

management system, for accountability and cybersecurity

purposes, in accordance with regulation 25 of the Data S.L. 586.08.

Protection (Processing of Personal Data by Competent

Authorities for the Purposes of the Prevention, Investigation,

Detection or Prosecution of Criminal Offences or the Execution

of Criminal Penalties) Regulations.

(2) All cybersecurity risks relating to the single electronic case

management system, in particular as regards its architecture,

governance and control, are managed and addressed in a prudent and

effective manner and that adequate safeguards against unauthorised

access and abuse are provided for.

(3) The single electronic case management system shall

contain personal data only for as long as it is necessary and

proportionate for the International Relations Unit to carry out the tasks

assigned to it under these regulations, and any personal data contained

therein shall be subsequently and irrevocably deleted.

(4) For the purpose of sub-regulation (3) on the deletion of

personal data, the International Relations Unit shall review the data

stored in the single electronic case management system within six (6)

months from when an exchange of information has been concluded,

and subsequently at every six (6) month interval.

(1) The International Relations Unit and competent law

enforcement authorities shall ensure practical cooperation among them

on the basis of established guidelines, inter-departmental agreements,

regular meetings and common training.

(2) The Head of the International Relations Unit, or any officer

delegated by the Head shall, at least on an annual basis, assess the

quality of the cooperation between competent authorities, discuss

necessary technical or organisational measures in the event of any

difficulties and clarify procedures where required.

(1) By 1st March of each year, the International Relations

Unit shall provide the Commission with statistics on the exchanges of

information with other Member States which took place during the

previous calendar year.

(2) The statistics provided to the Commission shall cover, as a

minimum

(a) the number of requests for information submitted by

the International Relations Unit and, where relevant, by

competent law enforcement authorities;

(b) the number of requests for information that the

International Relations Unit and the competent law enforcement

authorities received and the number of requests for information

to which they replied, broken down by urgent and non-urgent

requests and by requesting Member State;

(c)

the number of requests for information refused

pursuant to regulation 9, broken down by requesting Member

State and by ground for refusal;

(d) the number of cases in which there was a deviation

from the time limits established in regulation 8(1) because it was

necessary to obtain a judicial authorisation in accordance with

regulation 8(2), broken down by the Member States that

submitted the requests for information concerned.

The Simplification of Exchange of Information or Repeal and

Intelligence between the Malta Police Force and other State Agencies saving.

of the Member States of the European Union having similar powers

Regulations are hereby repealed without prejudice to anything done or

omitted to be done thereunder.