PETITIONS (LOCAL TRIBUNALS) REGULATIONS

PETITIONS (LOCAL TRIBUNALS)

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 291.04

PETITIONS (LOCAL TRIBUNALS) REGULATIONS

1st January, 2006

LEGAL NOTICE 414 of 2005, as amended by Legal Notices 140 of 2006,

144 of 2007, 193 of 2008, 39 and 262 of 2009, 310 of 2015, 332 of 2017

and 474 of 2020.

The title of these regulations is the Petitions (Local

Tribunals) Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Commissioners for Justice Act;

"the Agency” means the Local Enforcement System Agency

established by the Local Enforcement System (Establishment as an

Agency) Order;

"the Board" means the Petitions Board established by regulation

3;

"Commissioner" means a Commissioner for Justice appointed

under article 3 of the Act;

"scheduled offence" means an offence set out in the Schedule to

the Act, committed after the coming into force of these regulations;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Local

Enforcement System Agency.

(1) There shall be a Board, to be styled the Petitions

Board, composed of one person appointed by the Minister, who

may from time to time appoint more than one Board.

(2) The person composing the Board shall be appointed for a

term of two years and during the course of his term of office may

only be removed from office by the Prime Minister on the same

grounds for the removal of a Magistrate.

(3)

The functions of the Board shall be the following

(a) to determine any petition submitted to it by any person

who is charged or is about to be charged with any

scheduled offence before a Commissioner;

(b) to order the waiving or discontinuance of any

proceedings before a Commissioner relating to any

scheduled offence at the request of any person as

mentioned in the preceding paragraph; and

(c) to remit in whole or in part any financial penalty

imposed by a Commissioner following proceedings for

an infringement relating to a scheduled offence.

(1) Any person subject to any proceedings instituted

against him as are mentioned in regulation 3 or who has been found

guilty following such proceedin gs, may petition the Board

requesting that the proceedings be waived or discontinued, and, or

the penalty be remitted in whole or in part.

PETITIONS (LOCAL TRIBUNALS)

(2) Such petition shall be filed in the Registry of the Board of

Petitions within a reasonable time, but not later than thirty days

from the date of the Tribunal judgement.

(3) The petition shall, under pain of nullity, contain the reasons

for the request in the petition.

(4) No petition may be allowed once the financial penalty has

been paid.

(1) There shall be such number of chambers of the Board

as the Minister may prescribe. The petitions shall be assigned to the

v a r i o u s B o a r d s o n a r o t a t i o n b a s i s b y s u c h o ff i c e r s a s a r e

designated by the Registry of the Board of Petitions.

(2) The Board of Petitions shall process immediately the

petitions received immediately by sending an acknowledgement

within three (3) working days from when such petition is

registered, and this shall immediately be forwarded for the

comments of the Agency or the Police, as applicable. The Agency

or the Police shall forward their comments within three (3) weeks.

(3) After receiving all the required information, including the

comments of the Agency or the Police and all other necessary

documentation, the Board shall immediately decide on the petition

which shall be made by not later than fifteen (15) days from when

the Board receives the comments from the Agency or the Police.

(4) If the Agency or the Police do not forward the information

or the documentation asked within three (3) weeks from when

asked, the Board shall immediately decide the petition.

(5) As soon as the Board decides, the Registry of the Board

shall communicate the decision to the person who has made the

petition within five (5) working days.

(1) The Board shall examine petitions received by it and

shall only accede to a petition in part or in whole when there are

impelling reasons for it to do so, such as

(a) an evident mistake in the identity of the offender or in

the identification of any vehicle involved in the

scheduled offence;

(b) an evident mistake which resulted in the offender

being wrongly found guilty of the scheduled offence;

(c) humanitarian reasons attenuating the circumstances

relating to the commission of the scheduled offence;

(d) when the issue of the charge or of the notice under

article 14 of the Act or the nature thereof is manifestly

unjust or oppressive, considering the nature and facts

of the case;

(e) when the procedures as set in the Service of Notice by

Mail Regulations for the issue of the contravention

have not been followed.

(2)

(a) Following the presentation of a petition in the Registry

of the Board, the Tribunal proceedings referring to

PETITIONS (LOCAL TRIBUNALS)

such contravention shall be suspended for all effects

and purposes of law, until such date when the petition

is decided upon.

(b) The prescriptive period in the case of contraventions

shall also be suspended as from the date when the

petition is filed and until that same petition is decided

upon.

(c) In the event that the petition is refused, a new

summons shall be issued.

(a) When the Board accedes to a petition in respect of

proceedings which are pending or are about to be

instituted, such proceedings shall be extinguished for

all purposes of law.

(b) When the Board remits any penalty, such penalty shall

no longer be recoverable under the Act or any other

law.

(c) When the Board has acceded to a petition or remitted a

penalty, a notice must be sent to the respective Joint

Committee, which must take the necessary action to

reduce or cancel as the case may be.