NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 605.12

NATIONAL BOOK COUNCIL

(ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER

5th December, 2017

LEGAL NOTICE 339 of 2017, as amended by Act XXIX of 2019.

The title of this Order is the National Book Council

(Establishment) Order.

For the purposes of this Order, unless the context

otherwise requires -

"the Act" means the Education Act;

"author" means any person listed in the database of the

National Book Council as a holder of public rights;

"the Council" means the Council established under article 4;

"ISBN" means the International Standard Book Number as

defined by the ISBN Manual Guidelines;

"ISBN Manual Guidelines" means the international ISBN

manual guidelines issued by the International ISBN Agency;

"melitensia publications" means any publication which bears

an ISBN issued by the Council or a foreign publication which has

content dealing with, or related to, Malta or Maltese matters;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Education;

"National Book Prize" means the annual event organised by

the Council, in accordance with guidelines published in the Gazette,

in which locally published books from previous years are given

official recognition;

"publisher" means any natural or legal person that publishes

books or similar publications which are identified by an ISBN issued

by the National Book Council and follows the guidelines of the

National Book Council.

The objects of this Order are to establish the National

Book Council.

(1)

There shall be a Council, to be known as the

National Book Council, which shall be autonomous and which shall

carry out functions related to the book industry, authors and

publishers. The Council shall be a publicly funded and autonomous

institution which acts as a cultural and educational agent with the aim

of promoting books and reading in society and to represent the

interests of authors and publishers alike.

(2) The Council shall be a body corporate having a distinct

legal personality and shall be capable, subject to the provisions of the

Act, of entering into contracts, of acquiring, holding and disposing of

any kind of property for the purposes of its functions, of suing and

being sued and of doing all such things and entering into all such

transactions as are incidental or conducive to the exercise or

performance of its functions under the Act.

The affairs and activities of the Council shall be under

the direction of the Board established under article 7, and shall be

dealt with by the members of the Board, which, for this purpose, shall

be represented by the Executive Chairman who shall be able to speak

and act on its behalf.

The functions and duties of the Council shall be

(a)

to undertake and co-ordinate events and other

activities aimed at increasing book consumption in Maltese

society;

(b)

to support and assist authors and publishers by

advocating for them and safeguarding their interests in state

level policies;

(c)

to act as a cultural agent and to participate in,

and where necessary lead, public-private initiatives aimed at

promoting Maltese books;

(d)

to facilitate the distribution of Maltese books

and publications containing an ISBN beyond the local market;

(e)

to participate in and benefit from foreign book

fairs;

(f)

to build and maintain an updated database of all

books or similar publications containing a locally issued ISBN

which have been published locally;

(g)

to hold a minimum of two annual public

consultation meetings with authors and publishers;

(h)

to consider and decide upon issues and demands

raised by authors and publishers while serving as a mediator

between conflicting interests;

(i)

to issue official ISBN in Malta in accordance

with ISBN Manual Guidelines;

(j)

to encourage and support current and future

melitensia publications deemed to be, at the sole discretion to

the Council, of significant cultural, educational and

intellectual value which may or may not be considered

profitable from a marketing perspective due to their

specialised nature;

(k)

to allocate and regulate funds for the purpose

of financing projects aimed at further enhancing the skills and

capabilities of both authors and publishers;

(l)

to explore offshore possibilities for local

authors and to create opportunities for contact with translators,

foreign publishers and distributors;

(m)

to execute an international strategy for the

translation and dissemination of Maltese literature around the

world;

(n)

when deemed necessary, to represent authors

and publishers in international institutions and public fora in

order to defend their rights and interests;

(o)

to distribute public lending rights;

(p)

to organise the National Book Prize;

(q)

to organise the Malta Book Festival;

(r)

to organise the Malta Book Fund; and

(s)

to perform any other function as may be

assigned to it by the Minister.

(1)

The Council shall be governed by a Board

composed of nine members to be nominated by the Minister and

appointed by the Prime Minister for a period of three years, and the

members shall be eligible to be re-appointed after their term of office

expires.

(2) The Prime Minister, upon recommendation of the

Minister, shall appoint an Executive Chairperson and a Deputy

Chairperson from among the members of the Board.

(3) Only authors, publishers, academics

and

retired

academics may be members of the Council.

(1)

A member of the Board may at any time be

removed from office by the Prime Minister on the grounds of

inability to perform the functions of his office as required, either

because of mental or physical illness, or for any other reason due to

which the member would no longer be fit to occupy such office or

due to misconduct.

(2)

A member of the Board may resign from his office

through a letter addressed to the Prime Minister. If any member

tenders his resignation or is removed from his office by the Prime

Minister or should the office of any member of the Board become in

any manner vacant, the Prime Minister, upon recommendation of the

Minister, may appoint a qualified person to take up this post and any

person who is so appointed shall keep on occupying that post up to the

termination of the term of office of the person being so substituted,

and such person shall be eligible to be reappointed.

(3) Any absence or vacancy among the members of the

Board or any participation in its meetings by any person who is not

entitled to attend, shall not invalidate the proceedings of the Board,

insofar as there shall be a quorum of not less than one-half of the

number of members of the Board plus one.

(4) Subject to the provisions of this Order and of any

regulations made under the Act, the Board shall generally regulate its

own procedures.

(5) The Minister may issue guidelines regarding the

procedures to be adopted by the Board in the course of its operations.

(1)

The engagement and termination of the

engagement of the employees of the Council shall be a function of the

Board, acting through the Executive Chairperson.

(2) All employees previously performing duties with, and

any other public officers currently deployed with, the public service

shall be regarded as employees of the Council under the same terms

and conditions prevailing at the date of coming into force of this

Order.

(3) Subject to the provisions of the Act and to the directives

of the Council, the executive and administrative affairs and the

organisation of the Council and the administrative control of its

officers and its employees, shall fall within the responsibility of the

Executive Chairperson.

(4) The Executive Chairperson shall also be responsible for

the implementation of the functions of the Council and, without

prejudice to the generality of the aforesaid, shall develop such

strategies, policy and guidelines required for the implementation of

the purposes of the Council, provide information and give advice to it

on any matter and perform such other duties as may be assigned to

him from time to time by the Council.

(5)

The Executive Chairperson shall report to the Council.

The Council shall have its own budget and shall regulate

its own procedure.

The Council shall, two months before the start of the

business year, present the Minister with an annual work plan.

The Council shall compile and send to the Minister an

annual report not later than six weeks from the start of the business

year, on its activities during that year.

(1)

The Council shall meet at least once every two

months or as necessary.

(2) Meetings

shall

be

convened

by

the

Executive

Chairperson.

The Minister shall appoint a secretary to keep minutes

and a record of the meetings.