REQUISITION OF EXCAVATION VOIDS REGULATIONS

REQUISITION OF EXCAVATION VOIDS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 117.38

REQUISITION OF EXCAVATION VOIDS

REGULATIONS

13th April, 2017

LEGAL NOTICE 101 of 2017, as amended by Legal Notice 6 of 2020

The title of these Regulations is Requisition of Excavation

Voids Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

"excavation voids" means an excavated piece of land created

through surface or underground extraction;

"Minister"

means

the

Minister

responsible

for

the

environment;

"requisition" means the taking possession by the Minister of

any excavation voids;

"requisitionee" means the person or persons from whose

possession an excavation void is requisitioned by the Minister.

The Minister may, by order under his hand in line with the

criteria set out in the Schedule, requisition any excavation void or

such part or parts thereof from any requisitionee and may give such

directions as appear to him to be necessary or expedient in order

that the requisition may be put into effect and complied with.

The Minister or any public officer authorised by him may

enter any excavation void with a view to securing compliance with

the requisition order.

(1) The Minister may use or authorise any other person to

use any requisitioned excavation void in such manner and subject

to such conditions as he considers expedient having regards to the

public interest.

(2) The Minister may also, in his discretion, hand over to any

person any requisitioned excavation void to be used by such person

under the direction of the Environment and Resources Authority

and such other body or person as the Minister may by order in the

Gazette, prescribe.

Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any

requisition order made by the Minister under regulation 3 or who

performs any act or omits to perform any act knowing or having

reasonable cause to believe that such act or omission is likely to

frustrate, hinder or obstruct the execution or the carrying out of any

measure, direction, or authorisation connected with such

requisition order, shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment

for a term not exceeding six months and to a fine (multa) of not less

than five hundred (€500) euro and not exceeding two thousand and

three hundred (€2,300) euro apart from the cancellation of any

REQUISITION OF EXCAVATION VOIDS

licence held by such person in respect of the excavation void.

(1) In default of agreement between the Minister and the

requisitionee, the compensation payable to the latter shall be such

as is deemed fair and reasonable in all the circumstances of the case

by a Board to be composed as follows

(a) a Magistrate, to be appointed by the Chief Justice, as

Chairman;

(b) a person to be appointed by the Minister as his

representative; and

(c) a person to be appointed by the requisitionee as his

representative.

(2) If the requisitionee does not appoint his representative

within the period of seven days from the day on which he is asked

in writing to do so by the Minister, the Minister shall appoint a

third member to represent the requisitionee.

(3) Before starting the proceedings relative to the assessment of

the compensation payable to the requisitionee, the members of the

Board, with the exception of the Chairman, shall take before the

Chairman the oath to examine and decide with equity and

impartiality the matter before it.

(4) The Board shall regulate its own procedure subject to the

rules of natural justice and shall have the same powers as are by the

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure conferred on the Court

of Magistrates (Malta) or the Court of Magistrates (Gozo) in its

inferior jurisdiction to call witnesses and hear evidence on oath.

Summons to witnesses shall be signed by the Chairman of the

Board.

(5) An appeal from the decision of the Board shall lie to the

Court of Appeal (Inferior Jurisdiction) and shall be brought by

means of an application to be filed within six working days from

the day on which the decision of the Board is delivered.

When any person has been given the use of an excavation

void requisitioned under these regulations, whether or not such

person pays compensation in respect of such use, the Minister, if in

his discretion he is satisfied that such person should not continue in

such use, may order him to quit such excavation void and to

surrender the same within such time as the Minister may determine

notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary.

REQUISITION OF EXCAVATION VOIDS

Schedule

Added by

L.N. 6 of 2020.

(Regulation 3)

Criteria for requisition

The following criteria shall be applicable in the consideration for

requisition of excavation voids

-

Status of License issued under the Police Licences

Regulations (S.L. 128.01.);

-

Any commitments on site through any permits or

authorisations issued under the Development Planning

Act (Cap. 552) or the Environment Protection Act (Cap.

549);

-

Any active stop order and/or compliance order issued by

the Environment and Resources Authority and/or any

active stop notice and/or enforcement notice issued by

the Planning Authority or their predecessor.".