ORGANISATION AND CONTENT OF THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION FROM THE CRIMINAL RECORD BETWEEN MALTA AND

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 77.01

ORGANISATION AND CONTENT OF THE

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION FROM THE

CRIMINAL RECORD BETWEEN MALTA AND

OTHER MEMBER STATES REGULATIONS

29th April, 2016

LEGAL NOTICE 135 of 2016, as amended by Legal Notices 206 of 2022

and 182 of 2024.

(1) The title of these regulations is the Organisation and

Content of the Exchange of Information Extracted from the

C r i m i n a l R e c o r d b e t w e e n M a l t a a n d o t h e r M e m b e r St a t e s

Regulations.

(2) These regulations transpose Directive (EU) 2019/884 of the

European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 amending

Council Framework Decision 2009/315/JHA, as regards the exchange

of information on third-country nationals and as regards the European

Criminal Records Information System (ECRIS), and replacing Council

Decision 2009/316/JHA.

(3) The scope of these regulations is to regulate the exchange

of information extracted from the criminal records concerning

natural persons between Malta and other Member States.

[Regulations 5(4) and 8(1) and (2)]

Request for information extracted from the criminal record

The National Central Authority is to consult the Manual of

Procedures for assistance in filling in this form correctly

(a)

Information on the requesting Member State

Member State

Central authority

Contact person

Telephone (with STD code)

Fax (with STD code)

E-mail address

Correspondence address

File reference, if known

(b) Information on the identity of the person concerned by

the request ( * )

Full name (forenames and all surnames)

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

Previous names

Pseudonym and, or alias, if any

M 

F 

Gender

Nationality

Date of birth (in figures: dd/mm/yyyy)

Place of birth (town and State)

Father’s name

Mother’s name

Residence or known address

Person’s identity number of type and number of the person’s

identification document

Fingerprints

Other available identification information

(c)

Purpose of the request

Please tick the appropriate box



(1)

criminal proceedings (please identify the authority

before which the proceedings are pending and, if

available the case reference number) .....................



(2)

request outside the context of criminal proceedings

(please identify the authority before which the

proceedings are pending and, if available, the case

reference number, while ticking the relevant box)



(i)

from a judicial authority ..............................



(ii)

from a competent administrative authority ...



(iii)

from the person concerned for information

on own criminal record ................................

Purpose for which the information is requested

Requesting authority

the person concerned does not consent for this information

to be divulged (if the person concerned was asked for its

consent in accordance with the law o f the requesting

Member State).

Contact person for any further information needed

Name

Telephone

* To facilitate the identification of the person as much information as possible is to be

provided.

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

E-mail address

Other information (e.g. urgency of the request)

For the purpose of these regulations

"conviction" means any final judgment of a court of criminal

jurisdiction against a natural person in respect of a criminal

offence, to the extent that these judgments are entered in the

national register of the criminal records;

"convicting Member State" means the Member State where a

conviction is handed down;

"criminal proceedings" means the pre-trial stage, the trial stage

itself and the execution of the conviction;

"criminal record" means the national register of criminal records

which records convictions in accordance with Maltese legislation;

"ECRIS reference implementation" means the software developed

by the European Commission and made available to the Member States

for the exchange of criminal records information through ECRIS;

"the European Union" means the European Union as referred to

in the Treaty;

"facial image" means a digital image of a person’s face;

"fingerprint data" means the data relating to plain and rolled

impressions of the fingerprints of each of a person’s fingers;

"Member State" means any one of the Member States of the

European Union;

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

"National Central Authority" means the Director, Department of

Justice within the Ministry responsible for Justice who by means of the

Conducts and Criminal Records Office within the Department of

Justice, is the designated central authority responsible for the national

register of the criminal records;

"third-country national" means a person who is not a citizen of the

European Union within the meaning of Article 20(1) TFEU, or who is

a stateless person or a person whose nationality is unknown;

"the Treaty" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by article

2 of the European Union Act.

[Regulations 6(5) and 7(1)]

Reply to the request

The National Central Authority is to consult the Manual of

Procedures for assistance in filling in this form correctly

Information relating to the person concerned

Please tick the appropriate box

The undersigned authority confirms that

there is no information on convictions in the criminal

record of the person concerned

there is information on convictions entered in the criminal

record of the person concerned; a list of conviction is

attached

there is other information entered in the criminal record of

the person conce rned; suc h i nformation i s attached

(optional)

there is information on convictions entered in the criminal

record of the person concerned but the convicting Member

State intimated that the information about these

convictions may not be retransmitted for any purposes

other than that of criminal proceedings. The request for

more information may be sent directly to ...........................

(please indicate the convicting Member State)

in accordance with the Maltese legislation of the requested

Member State, requests made for any purposes other than

that of criminal proceedings may not be dealt with.

Contact person for any further information needed

Name

Telephone

E-mail address

Other information (limitations of use of the data concerning

requests outside the context of criminal proceedings

Please indicate the number of pages attached to the reply form

Done at

Signature and official stamp (if appropriate)

Name and position/organisation

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

If appropriate, please attach a list of convictions and send the

complete package to the requesting Member State. It is not

necessary to translate the form or the list into the language of the

requesting Member State.

(1) The National Central Authority shall take the necessary

measures to ensure that all convictions handed down within the

Maltese territory are accompanied by information on the nationality or

nationalities of the convicted person if the person is a national of

another Member State or a third country national. Where a convicted

person is of unknown nationality or stateless, the criminal record shall

reflect this.

(2) The National Central Authority shall, as soon as possible,

inform the central authorities of the other Member States of any

convictions handed down within the Maltese territory against the

nationals of such other Member States, as entered in the criminal

record

Provided that if it is known that the convicted person is a

national of several Member States, the National Central Authority

shall transmit relevant information to each of these Member States,

even if the convicted person is a Maltese national.

(3) Information on subsequent alteration or deletion of

information contained in the criminal record shall be immediately

transmitted by the National Central Authority to the central

authority of the Member State of the person’s nationality.

(4) The National Central Authority which has provided

information in accordance with sub-regulations (2) and (3) shall

communicate to the central authority of the Member State of the

person’s nationality, on the latter’s request in individual cases, a

copy of the convictions and subsequent measures as well as any

other information relevant thereto in order to enable it to consider

whether they necessitate any measure at national level.

(1) Any information transmitted by the central authorities

of other Member States about convictions handed down within their

territory against Maltese nationals shall be stored by the National

Central Authority in accordance with regulation 9(2).

(2) Any alteration or deletion of information transmitted by the

central authorities of other Member States to the National Central

Authority shall entail identical alteration or deletion by the

National Central Authority regarding information stored in

accordance with sub-regulation (1) for the purpose of re-

transmission.

(3)

For the purpose of re-transmission, the National Central

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

Authority may only use information which has been updated in

accordance with sub-regulation (2).

(1) When information from the criminal record of a

Member State is requested for the purposes of criminal proceedings

against a person or for any other purposes other than that of

criminal proceedings, the National Central Authority may, in

accordance with Maltese legislation, submit a request to the central

authority of another Member State for information and related data

to be extracted from the criminal record.

(2) When a person asks for information on his own criminal

record, the National Central Authority may, in accordance with

these regulations, submit a request to the central authority of

another Member State for information and related data to be

extracted from the criminal record, provided the person concerned

is or was a resident or a national of Malta or of the requested

Member State

Provided that if the National Central Authority is the

requested Member State, the National Central Authority shall

transmit its reply within twenty working days from the date the

request was received.

(3) Whenever a national of another Member State asks the

National Central Authority for information on his own criminal record,

the National Central Authority shall submit a request to the Central

Authority of the Member State of the person’s nationality for

information and related data to be extracted from the criminal record

and shall include such information and related data in the extract to be

provided to the person concerned.

(3a) Where a third country national asks the National Central

Authority for information on his own criminal record, that National

Central Authority shall submit a request only to those central

authorities of the Member States which hold information on the

criminal record of that person for information and related data to be

extracted from the criminal records and shall include such information

and related data in the extract to be provided to the person concerned.

(4) All requests for information and relevant data shall be

submitted using the form set out in Schedule I.

(1) When information extracted from the criminal record

of a Maltese national is requested from the National Central

Authority, for the purposes of criminal proceedings, the National

Central Authority shall transmit to the central authority of the

requesting Member State information on

(a) convictions handed down within the Maltese territory

and entered in the criminal record;

(b) any convictions handed down in other Member States

which were transmitted to the National Central

Authority and entered in the criminal record;

(c) any convictions handed down in third countries and

subsequently transmitted to the National Central

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

Authority and entered in the criminal record.

(2) When information extracted from the criminal record of a

Maltese national is requested from the National Central Authority,

for any purposes other than that of criminal proceedings, the

National Central Authority shall in respect of convictions handed

down within its territory, and of convictions handed down in third

countries, which have been subsequently transmitted to it and

entered in the criminal records, reply in accordance with Maltese

legislation

Provided that with regard to any information on a Maltese

national regarding convictions handed down in another Member

State, which has been transmitted to the National Central Authority,

the latter shall in accordance with Maltese legislation transmit to

the requesting Member State the information which has been stored

in accordance with regulation 9(2) as well as the information which

has been transmitted to it, and has been entered in its criminal

record

Provided also that when transmitting information in

accordance with regulation 3, the National Central Authority may

inform the central authority of the other Member State of the

person’s nationality that the information on convictions handed

down in Malta and transmitted to the latter central authority may

not be re-transmitted for any purposes other than that of criminal

proceedings

Provided further that when the central authority of the other

Member State transmits information on Maltese nationals regarding

convictions handed down in another Member State, the National

Central Authority shall not re-transmit the information if the

central authority of the other Member State informs the former that

the information may not be transmitted for any purposes other than

of cri mi nal pro ceed ing s. I n t his case, th e Nati onal Central

Au thority shall , in r espect o f such con victi ons, inform the

requesting Member State which other Member State had

transmitted such information so as to enable the requesting Member

State to submit a request directly to the convicting Member State in

order to receive information on such convictions.

(3) When information by a third country is requested from the

criminal record of a Maltese national, the National Central

Authority may reply in respect of convictions transmitted by

another Member State only within the limitations applicable to the

transmission to other Member States in accordance with sub-

regulations (1) and (2).

(4) When information extracted from the criminal record on

convictions handed down against a national of a Member State other

than a Maltese national is requested, the National Central Authority

shall transmit such information to the same extent as provided for in

article 13 of the European Convention on Mutual Assistance in

Criminal Matters

Provided that if the National Central Authority is the requested

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

Member State, the National Central Authority shall transmit its reply

within twenty working days from the date the request was received.

(4a) When information extracted from the criminal record of a

third-country national is requested, the National Central Authority

shall transmit information on any conviction handed down in Malta

and entered in the criminal records and on any conviction handed down

in third countries and subsequently transmitted to the National Central

Authority and entered into the criminal records

Provided that where this information is requested for any

purpose other than that of criminal proceedings sub-regulation (2) shall

apply accordingly

Provided further that if the National Central Authority is the

requested Member State, the National Central Authority shall transmit

its reply within twenty working days from the date the request was

received.

(5) The reply shall be made using the form set out in Schedule

II. It shall be accompanied by a list of convictions, as provided for

by Maltese legislation.

(1) When information from the National Central Authority

is requested for the purposes of criminal proceedings against a

person or for any purposes other than that of criminal proceedings,

the National Central Authority shall transmit its replies

immediately and in any event within a period not exceeding ten

working days from the date the request was received, as provided

for by Maltese legislation, rules or practice, using the form set out

in Schedule II

Provided that, when the National Central Authority requires

further information to identify the person involved in the request, it

shall immediately consult the requesting Member State with a view

to providing a reply within ten working days from the date the

additional information is received.

(2) The National Central Authority shall reply to any requests

either in Maltese or English, or in any other language accepted by

the National Central Authority and the requesting State. When the

National Central Authority is the requesting State, the language

used shall be either Maltese or English.

(1) Personal data provided by the central authorities of

o t h e r M e m b e r St a t e s m a y b e u s e d b y t h e N a t i o n a l C e n t r a l

Authority only for the purposes of the criminal proceedings for

which it was requested, as specified in the form set out in Schedule

I.

(2) Personal data provided by the central authorities of other

Member States for any purposes other than that of criminal

proceedings may be used by the National Central Authority in

accordance with Maltese legislation only for the purposes for

which it was requested and within the limits specified in the form

set out in Schedule I.

(3)

Without prejudice to sub-regulations (1) and (2), personal

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

data provided by the central authorities of other Member States

may be used for preventing an immediate and serious threat to

public security.

(4) The National Central Authority shall take the necessary

measures to ensure that personal data received from another

Member State, if transmitted to a third country in accordance with

regulation 6(3), is subject to the same usage limitations as those

applicable in a requesting Member State in accordance with sub-

regulation (2) of this regulation. The National Central Authority

shall specify that personal data, if transmitted to a third country for

the purposes of criminal proceedings, may be further used by that

third country only for the purposes of criminal proceedings.

(5) This regulation does not apply to personal data obtained by

a Member State under these regulations and originating from that

Member State.

(1) When transmitting information in accordance with

regulation 3(2) and (3), the National Central Authority shall

transmit the following information

(a) information that shall always be transmitted, unless, in

individual cases, such information is not known to the

National Central Authority (obligatory information)

(i)

information on the convicted person (full name,

date of birth, place of birth (town and State),

gender, nationality and - if applicable - previous

name(s));

(ii) information on the nature of conviction (date of

conviction, name of the court, date on which the

judgment became final);

(iii) information on the offence giving rise to the

conviction (date of the offence underlying the

conviction and name or legal classification of

the offence as well as reference to the applicable

legal provisions); and

(iv) information on the contents of the conviction

(notably the judgment as well as any

supplementary penalties, security measures and

subsequent decisions modifying the enforcement

of the judgment);

(b) information that shall be transmitted if entered in the

criminal record (optional information)

(i)

the convicted person’s parents’ names;

(ii)

the reference number of the conviction;

(iii)

the place of the offence; and

(iv)

disqualifications arising from the conviction;

(c) information that shall be transmitted, if available to

the

National

Central

Authority

(additional

information)

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES

(i)

the convicted person’s identity number, or the

type and number of the person’s identification

document;

(ii) fingerprints, which have been taken from that

person;

(iii) if applicable, pseudonym and, or alias name(s);

and

(iv) facial image

Provided that the National Central Authority may transmit

any other information concerning convictions entered in the

criminal record.

(2) The National Central Authority shall store all information

of the types listed in sub-regulation (1)(a) and (b), which it has

received from other central authorities regarding convictions

handed down in other Member States regarding offences committed

by M alt ese n at io nal s fo r t he p ur p ose o f r e- tr an sm iss io n in

accordance with regulation 6. For the same purpose, the National

Central Authority may store the information of the types listed in

sub-regulation (1)(c).

(3) The National Central Authority shall transmit the following

information electronically using ECRIS and a standardised format in

accordance with the standards to be laid down in the European

Commission’s implementing acts

(a) information referred to in regulation 5;

(b) requests for information on convictions;

(c) replies to requests for information on convictions;

(d) other relevant information.

(4)

If the mode of transmission referred to in sub-regulation

(3) is not available, the National Central Authority shall transmit all

information referred to in sub-regulation (3) by any means capable of

producing a written record under conditions allowing the central

authority of the receiving Member State to establish the authenticity of

the information, taking the security of transmission into consideration.

(5) If the mode of transmission referred to in sub-regulation (3) is

not available for an extended period of time, the National Central

Authority shall inform the other Member States and the European

Commission.

BETWEEN MALTA AND OTHER MEMBER STATES