L-Att tal-2021 dwar r-Reviżjoni tal-Liġijiet Statutarji

STATUTE LAW REVISION ACT, 2021

AN ACT to provide for the preparation, printing and publication, by

whatever means, of revised editions of the laws of Malta, and for matters

connected therewith or ancillary thereto.

16th July, 2021

ACT XL of 2021.

The short title of this Act is the Statute Law Revision

Act, 2021.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

"Commission" means the Law Commission appointed under

article 3;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Law

Commission.

"revised edition" means an edition of the laws of Malta prepared

under this Act;

"statute law" includes any instrument having the force of law.

(1)

For the purpose of preparing, from time to time at

intervals of not less than ten ( 1 0 ) years, a revised edition of the

statute laws of Malta, and for the purpose of preparing a Maltese text

of all statute laws enacted or published without a Maltese text, the

Minister may appoint a Law Commissioner, and a body of

consultants as may for the time being be in office, together to be

known as the Law Commission

Provided that where Parliament has provided that a law

may be enacted or made in either the Maltese or the English language

only, and is so enacted or made, the Commission may either prepare

the revised text of that law in that language only or may provide a

translation thereof in the Maltese or English language, as the case

may be.

(2)

When there is in office a Commission, the Minister shall

appoint the Law Commissioner.

(3)

A person appointed to be Law Commissioner may be

appointed for such term and subject to such conditions as may be

determined by the Minister

Provided that a Law Commissioner may, at any time, resign

and may also, for a good cause, be removed from office and a person

who ceases to be a Commissioner may be eligible for re-appointment.

(4)

A person who holds judicial office may be appointed as

Law Commissioner notwithstanding the provisions of article 16 of the

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure but shall not, unless

otherwise provided by the terms of his appointment, be required to

perform his duties as a Judge or Magistrate while he remains a

member of the Commission.

(5)

There shall be paid to the Law Commissioner and to the

consultants such remuneration, if any, as the Minister may, with the

approval of the Minister responsible for Finance, determine and

different remuneration may be paid to the consultants according to

circumstances.

(6)

It shall also be the function of the Commission to perform

such other duties as may, after consultation with it, be assigned to it

by the Minister.

(1)

In carrying out its functions under this Act, the

Commission shall have power

(a)

to omit

(i)

all statute laws or parts of statute laws

which have been expressly repealed or which have

expired or have become spent or which shall no longer

have any effect;

(ii)

all repealing provisions contained in any

statute law;

(iii) all preambles to statute laws where such

omission can, in the opinion of the Commission, be

conveniently made;

(iv) all introductory words of an enactment in

any article, regulation or paragraph of a statute law

which consists of more than one article, regulation or

paragraph;

(v)

all enactments prescribing the date on

which a statute law is to come into force, where such

omission may, in the opinion of the Commission, be

conveniently made;

(vi) all amending provisions contained in a

statute law where the amendments effected thereby and

which are still in force have been embodied by the

Commission in the statute law to which they relate;

(vii) all subsidiary legislation that is, or is

intended to be, of a temporary nature or is subject to

relative or frequent changes or is otherwise such that, in

the opinion of the Commission, may be properly

omitted

Provided that any such omission shall not

affect the continued operation of any such subsidiary

legislation for as long as it otherwise remains in force;

(b)

to consolidate into one statute law any two or

more statute laws pari materia, making such verbal alterations

in the consolidated law as may thereby become necessary;

(c)

to alter the order of articles or other sub-divisions

of a statute law and, wherever necessary, to re-number those

articles or other sub-divisions;

(d)

to alter the form or arrangement of any article

or other sub-division of a statute law, either by combining it in

whole or in part with another article or subdivision, or other

articles or sub-divisions, or by dividing it into two or more parts

or sub-divisions;

(e)

to divide any statute law, whether consolidated

or not, into parts or other divisions;

(f)

to add a short title to any statute law which may,

in the opinion of the Commission, require it and, if necessary, to

alter the short title of any statute law;

(g)

to supply or alter marginal notes;

(h)

to shorten and simplify the phraseology of any

statute law;

(i)

to correct grammatical, typographical and other

mistakes in the existing copies of the statute laws, and for that

purpose to make verbal additions, omissions or alterations not

affecting the meaning of any provision;

(j)

to convert any weight or measure into a metric

weight or measure corresponding thereto as nearly as

practicable, and for that purpose the Commission shall have

power to round off any decimal as it may deem appropriate;

(k)

to disregard any fraction of one euro in respect

of any fee, duty, levy or other charge, by whatever name called,

payable to a Government entity, an Authority or an Agency, or

other entity established by law, and round down to the nearest

euro any amount so payable which is not a multiple of five

euro;

(l)

to disregard any fraction of one euro in respect

of any fine (multa or ammenda) imposed by law for the

commission of an offence, by rounding up to the nearest euro

any amount which is not a multiple of five euro;

(m) to make any addition, omission or alteration

which is consequential to any amendment to any statute law or

provision thereof; and

(n)

to do all other things relating to form and method

which may improve the revised edition.

(2)

Where any statute law is to have effect or is to be read or

construed as provided in another statute law, the Commission may

treat such a provision in the same manner as an amendment of the

former by the latter enactment.

(3)

The powers conferred by this article shall not be construed

as empowering the Comm ission to make any alteration or

amendment in the matter or substance of any statute law

Provided that the Commission shall have power to make

any alteration or amendment which may be necessary to make the

revised edition more faithful to the original text or to remove any

conflict between the Maltese and the English text of any law, and for

these purposes the Commission shall have power to alter or amend

either of those texts or both, including the prevailing text.

The Commission shall not include in a revised edition any

statute law omitted under the authority of the Statute Law Revision

Act, 1980.

(1)

A revised edition shall be prepared in such

order, form and manner, and shall contain such tables, indices and

other information as the Commission may deem necessary or

expedient.

(2)

Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing

provisions of this article the Commission may -

(a)

add to any revised edition further parts

containing the laws in force on a date or dates subsequent to

that indicated in the revised edition, or in a further part thereof,

as in force on such date or dates as are indicated in the further

part or parts, and any such further part shall be deemed to be

an integral part of the revised edition;

(b)

keep the laws contained in any part of a revised

edition updated to a date or dates indicated by the Commission,

and for such purpose the Commission may publish a revised

edition or any part thereof in a loose-leaf form and, or

electronically, and keep it updated in such manner and under

such conditions as the Commission may deem appropriate,

and the provisions of this Act, including in particular, but

without prejudice to the generality of the expression, articles 4 and 8,

shall apply to any further part, and to any revised edition or part

thereof published in a loose-leaf form and, or electronically, as the

case may be, as they apply to any other revised edition or part

thereof.

(3)

A revised edition shall be printed and, or published

electronically, as the case may be, under such arrangements as the

Commission may, with the approval of the Minister, determine.

(1)

Where in any enactment or in any document of

whatever kind, reference is made to any enactment affected by or

under the operation of this Act, or to any provision of such

enactment, such reference shall, where necessary and practicable,

extend and apply to the corresponding enactment, or provision

thereof, in the revised edition then in force.

(2)

Where parts of a revised edition are brought into force on

different dates, and in a part which is in force reference is made to an

enactment, or a provision of an enactment, as such an enactment or

provision will be contained in a part of the same edition which is not

yet in force, such reference shall, until such time as the latter part

comes into force, be read as a reference to the corresponding

enactment or provision thereof as then in force.

(3)

Where the Commission finds that any part of a revised

edition published by it, whether such part has or has not come into

force, contains an error or an omission, including an error or an

omission which should have been rectified in a revised edition, it may

publish, and cause to be sealed and signed as provided in article 9, a

correction in such form as it may deem appropriate; and, with effect

from such date as the Minister may by notice in the Gazette appoint,

being a date not earlier than the coming into force of the part of the

revised edition to which the correction refers, the said part of the

revised edition shall, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,

have effect subject to such correction.

(4)

Where an enactment contained in a part of a revised

edition is amended with effect from a date subsequent to the

publication but before the coming into force of that part of the

edition, and the Commission recommends to the Minister alterations

in the amending enactment in order that the latter may be read and

construed more appropriately as one with the principal enactment

amended by it as contained in the revised edition, the Minister may by

order in the Gazette make the alterations so recommended; and

thereupon, or as from such date as the Minister may in the notice

specify, the amended enactment shall have effect as so amended.

(1)

A revised edition shall come into force on such

day as the Minister may by notice in the Gazette appoint.

(2)

From the date of the coming into force of a revised

edition, that edition shall be without any question whatever in all

Courts of Justice and for all purposes whatsoever, the sole and only

proper and authentic text of the statute laws included in it as in force

on such date as the Minister shall by notice in the Gazette specify,

but subject to any amendments thereto or any repeal thereof made

after such date

Provided that where a revised edition is published in

electronic format, that edition shall be the sole and only proper and

authentic text of the statute laws included in it, so however that any

copy thereof or of any part thereof, printed on paper or in any other

form and issued by the Commission, shall, in so far as it conforms to

the revised edition printed in electronic format, also be an authentic

text of the laws included in the said copy.

(3)

If there is any conflict between the Maltese and the

English texts of any revised edition, the Maltese text shall, subject to

the provisions of the particular statute law, prevail.

(4)

Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing

provisions of this article, the Minister may, in any notice given

thereunder, appoint or specify different dates for different parts of any

revised edition, and in any such case the said provisions shall apply

accordingly.

One copy of each volume of a revised edition shall be

signed by the Law Commissioner and shall be sealed with the Public

Seal of Malta. Such copies shall then be transmitted to the Registrar

of the Courts and also to the Clerk of the House of Representatives to

be enrolled on record in their offices.

This Act shall be printed and, or published electronically

at the commencement of a revised edition.

(1)

One copy of the revised edition in electronic format

shall be transmitted to the Registrar of the Courts and also to the Clerk

of the House of Representatives to be enrolled on record in their

offices as provided in article 9, and another shall be placed at the

office of the Commission and shall be open for inspection by the

public on the payment of such fees as the Commission, with the

concurrence of the Minister, may determine.

(2)

At the request of any person, the Commission may issue

hard copies of particular laws in a revised edition on the payment of

such fees as it may, with the concurrence of the Minister, determine,

and shall cause such copies to be authenticated by such officer of the

Commission as the Commission may by notice in the Gazette from

time to time determine. Such authenticated copies shall, unless the

contrary is proved, be accepted in evidence before any court of law as

a true copy of such law as it appears in the revised edition.

(3)

A revised edition made in electronic format shall not

come into force before copies thereof have been transmitted to the

Registrar of the Courts as provided in sub-article (1).

(1)

The Minister may cause to be published on an

internet site a consolidated version of any revised edition

incorporating all amendments which may have been made to any law

in a revised edition and including in such internet site all Acts enacted

after the publication of the last revised edition incorporating all

amendments thereto. Such Acts enacted after the publication of a

revised edition shall be given a chapter number as if they were

incorporated in a revised edition and may be referred to by such

chapter number.

(2)

The Minister may also cause to be published on such

internet site an up to date consolidated version of subsidiary

legislation made under the laws included in a revised edition and

under Acts subsequently enacted, and may in such publication cause

such subsidiary legislation to be given such enumeration with

reference to the chapter number of the principal law or otherwise as

the Minister may deem proper and reference to such subsidiary

legislation by such enumeration shall be valid as if reference were

made to the same subsidiary legislation as previously promulgated as

a Government or legal notice or otherwise.

(3)

The Minister shall cause a notice to be published in the

Gazette giving the address of the website wherein the said laws are

published on the Internet.

(4)

Unless proof is brought to the contrary the text of any law

published on an internet site in accordance with this article shall be

deemed to be a true representation of the law incorporating all

amendments up to the date indicated on the internet site.

(1)

No person may without the permission of the

Government make, or cause to be made copies or reproductions in

any material form of any revised edition or any part thereof as

published by the Commission.

(2)

The provisions of sub-article (1) shall not apply to the

printing or publication of any law contained in a revised edition, by

whatever means, provided that no part thereof is photocopied,

scanned, electronically printed out or otherwise produced by using

the revised edition or any part thereof as the physical base for the

reproduction, and provided further that any such publication contains

a declaration stating that it is not an official publication of the law in

question.

(3)

The provisions of article 9 of the Copyright Act shall

apply mutatis mutandis to sub-article (1).

(4)

Any person who acts in breach of the provisions of this

article shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable

to imprisonment for a term of one year or to a fine (multa) not

exceeding fifteen thousand euro (€15,000) or to both such fine and

imprisonment.

(5) The provisions of sub-article (4) shall be without

prejudice to any right of action for damages pertaining to the

Government against any person committing the offence.