SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE REGULATIONS

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 350.07

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

REGULATIONS

1st September, 2000

LEGAL NOTICE 162 of 2000.

The title of these regulations is the Special Administrative

Procedure Regulations.

(1)

For the purposes of these regulations

"the Act" means the Broadcasting Act;

"Authority" means the Broadcasting Authority established by

article 118 of the Constitution of Malta;

"Chief Executive" means the Chief Executive of the Authority or

any other officer or employee of the Authority but does not include

the Secretary of the Authority;

"Code" means the Authority’s Code for the Investigation and

Determination of Complaints;

"complainant" means an affected third party who applies to the

Authority to seek effective compliance by a broadcaster with the

provisions of the Act;

"Secretary" means the Secretary of the Authority or any other

officer or employee of the Authority but does not include the Chief

Executive of the Authority.

(2) Words and phrases used in these regulations shall have the

same meaning as is assigned to them in the Act.

(1) The Chief Executive shall issue a notice of a charge to

a broadcaster.

(2) In the said notice the Chief Executive shall indicate the

relevant provisions of the Act, or of the rules, regulations or Codes

made thereunder which the broadcaster is charged with infringing.

(3) In the said notice, the Chief Executive shall also inform the

broadcaster of the penalty to which the infringements are liable in

the case of a finding of guilt and of the amount of the reduced

penalty which may be paid by the broadcaster and of the period

within which it may be paid should the broadcaster opt to pay a

reduced penalty in terms of the Fifth Schedule to the Act.

(4) After the Authority has heard the oral submissions of the

Chief Executive and the broadcaster, the Chief Executive and the

broadcaster shall withdraw from the Authority’s meeting when the

Authority proceeds to discuss and decide upon the charge.

(5) The Authority’s Secretary shall communicate in writing the

Authority’s decision to the Chief Executive and to the broadcaster.

Where a complaint lodged by a complainant to a

SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE

broadcaster relates to one of the offences listed in regulation 3(2),

the procedure laid down in the Code for Investigation and

Determination of Complaints, shall be followed subject to the

following rules

(a) where the complainant is not satisfied with the

broadcaster’s reply and requests the Authority to hear

and decide upon his complaint as laid down in

regulation 7 of the Code, the Chief Executive shall

comply with the provisions of regulation 3(1), (2) and

(3);

(b) the procedure laid down in regulation 3(4) shall be

followed by the Authority and the complainant, if

present, shall also withdraw from the Authority’s

meeting;

(c) the procedure laid down in regulations 8 to 16 of the

Code shall be followed

Provided that the Chief Executive shall assist the

complainant and the word "complainant" wherever it occurs in

regulations 8 to 16 of the Code shall also for the purposes of

matters provided for in this regulation include a reference to the

Chief Executive.