Criminal Code of the Republic of Malta (1854, as amended 2013) (excerpts related to Counter-Terrorism and Violent Extremism) (English)

Relevant Provisions in the Criminal Code (Chapter 9 of the Laws of Malta) 

217. A grievous bodily harm is punishable with imprisonment for a term from five months to four years if it is committed with arms proper, or with a cutting or pointed instrument, or by means of any explosive, or any burning or corrosive fluid or substance:

 

Provided that where the offence is committed by means of any explosive fluid or substance the minimum punishment shall be imprisonment for two years and the provisions of the Probation Act shall not be applicable.

 

218. (1) A grievous bodily harm is punishable with imprisonment for a term from nine months to nine years

 

(a) if it causes any permanent debility of the health or any permanent functional debility of any organ of the

body, or any permanent defect in any part of the physical structure of the body, or any permanent mental infirmity;

(b) if it causes any serious and permanent disfigurement of the face, neck, or either of the hands of the person injured;

(c) if, being committed on a woman with child, it causes miscarriage.

(2) Any debility of the health or any functional debility of any organ of the body, and any mental infirmity, serious disfigurement, or defect shall be deemed to be permanent even when it is probably so.

(3) The punishment for the offences referred to in subarticle (1) shall be that established in article 312(2) if the bodily harm is committed by means of any explosive fluid or substance.

 

328A.(1) For the purposes of this sub-title, "act of terrorism" means any act listed in subarticle (2), committed wilfully, which may seriously damage a country or an international organization where committed with the aim of:

 

(a) seriously intimidating a population, or

(b) unduly compelling a Government or international organization to perform or abstain from performing

any act, or

(c) seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organization.

(2) The acts to which reference is made in subarticle (1) are the following:

(a) taking away of the life or liberty of a person;

(b) endangering the life of a person by bodily harm;

(c) bodily harm;

(d) causing extensive destruction to a state or government facility, a public transportation system, an

infrastructure facility, including an information system, a fixed platform located on the continental shelf, a public place or private property likely to endanger the life or to cause serious injury to the property of any other person or to result in serious economic loss;

(e) seizure of aircraft, ships or other means of public or goods transport;

(f) manufacture, possession, acquisition, transport, supply or use of weapons, explosives or of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons;

(g) research into or development of biological and chemical weapons;

(h) release of dangerous substances, or causing fires, floods or explosions endangering the life of any

person;

(i) interfering with or disrupting the supply of water, power or any other fundamental natural resource

endangering the life of any person;

(j) threatening to commit any of the acts in paragraphs (a) to (i):

 

Provided that in this subarticle "state or government facility", "infrastructure facility" and "public transportation system" shall have the same meaning assigned to them in article 314A(4).

(3) Whosoever commits an act of terrorism shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to the punishment of imprisonment from five years to life.

 

391. (1) The witnesses shall be examined by the court. The name and surname of the witness, the name of his father and, if the witness is a person to whom article 3 of the Identity Card Act applies, the number, if known to the witness, of his identity card issued under the said Act, as well as the place of birth and abode of the witness and the language in which he shall have deposed, shall be noted down at the head of every deposition:

 

Provided that the court may, in exceptional circumstances and to provide for the safety of the witness, omit the above particulars, other than the name and surname of the witness and the language in which he shall have deposed, making a note to that effect in the record of the proceedings.

 

(2) If the magistrate is conversant with the language spoken by the witness, he may himself translate the deposition into the language in which the written proceedings are conducted; otherwise, or at the request of the accused, a sworn interpreter shall be employed.

(3) Where the witness is a minor under the age of sixteen years the witness shall be examined and cross-examined in one sitting and his testimony shall be recorded by audio-visual means. The audio-visual recording shall form part of the record of the proceedings:

 

Provided that for special and exceptional reasons which arise after the witness has given his testimony the Court may authorize the hearing of the witness in a subsequent sitting.

 

409. (1) It shall be lawful for the court to order the proceedings to be conducted with closed doors, if it appears to it that the ends of justice would be prejudiced if the inquiry were conducted in open court.

 

410. (1) In any proceedings instituted by the Executive Police on the complaint of the injured party, it shall be lawful for the complainant to be present at the proceedings, to engage an advocate or a legal procurator to assist him, to examine or cross-examine witnesses and to produce, in support of the charge, such other

evidence as the court may consider admissible.

 

(2) Where the complainant is to be heard on oath, his evidence shall be taken before that of any other witness of the prosecution, saving the case where, in the opinion of the court, his evidence becomes necessary even at a later stage of the proceedings, or where the accused applies for such evidence at any stage of the proceedings, or where the court sees fit to vary the course of the taking of the evidence.

 

(3) In any proceedings instituted by the Executive Police exofficio, it shall be lawful for the Police and for the party injured to engage an advocate or a legal procurator to assist them; such advocate or legal procurator may examine or cross-examine witnesses, produce evidence or make, in support of the charge, any other submission which the court may consider admissible.

 

(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of subarticle (3) and subject to the provisions of subarticle (6), any party injured having an interest in being present during any proceedings instituted by the Executive Police shall have the right to communicate that interest to the police giving his or her particulars and residential address whereupon that injured party shall be served with a notice of the date, place and time of the first hearing in those proceedings and shall have the right to be present in court during that and all subsequent hearings even if he is a witness.

 

(5) Without prejudice to the provisions of subarticle (3) and subject to the provisions of subarticle (6), any person not served with the notice referred to in subarticle (4) and claiming to be an injured party may apply to the court to be admitted into the proceedings as an injured party and if his claim that he is an injured

party is allowed by the court that person shall thereupon have the right to be present at all subsequent hearings even if he is a witness.

 

(6) The failure to serve the injured party with the notice of the date of the first hearing after an attempt has been made to that effect or the absence for any reason of the injured party at any sitting shall not preclude the court from proceeding with the trial or inquiry until its conclusion.

 

412C. (1) Where a person (hereinafter in this article and in article 412D referred to as "the accused") has been charged or accused with an offence before the Court of Magistrates whether as a court of inquiry or as a court of criminal judicature, the court may, on reasonable grounds, for the purpose of providing for the

safety of the injured person or of other individuals or for the keeping of the public peace or for the purpose of protecting the injured person or other individuals from harassment or other conduct which will cause a fear of violence, issue a protection order against the accused.

 

(2) A protection order may impose any restrictions or prohibitions on the accused that appear to the court necessary or desirable in the circumstances in order to give effect to any of the purposes mentioned in subarticle (1).

 

(3) Without limiting the nature of the orders which may be made under subarticle (1), a protection order may do all or any of the following:

 

(a) prohibits or restricts the accused from approaching or following the movements of the injured person or any other individual specified in the order; or

(b) prohibit or restrict access by the accused, for a period not exceeding six months or until final judgement, to premises in which the injured person, or any other individual specified in the order, lives, works or frequents even if the accused has a legal interest in those premises; or

(c) prohibit the accused from contacting or molesting the injured person or any other individual specified in the order.

 

(4) Before making an order, the court shall take into account:

(a) the need to ensure that the injured person or other individual specified in the order is protected from

injury or molestation; and

(b) the welfare of any children or any dependants who may be affected by the order; and

(c) the accommodation needs of all persons who may be affected by the order, in particular of the injured

person, his children and his other dependants; and

(d) any hardship that may be caused to the accused or to any other person as a result of making the order; and

(e) the accused’s willingness or otherwise to submit to such treatment as the court may deem appropriate; and

(f) any other matter that, in the circumstances of the case, the court considers relevant:

 

Provided that particular attention shall be given to the matters in paragraphs (a), (b) and (e).

 

(5) A protection order shall remain in force for a period, not exceeding three years, specified by the court, but can be revoked or extended for further periods.

 

(6) A party to the proceedings in which an order has been made under this article or any other individual mentioned in the order, may apply to the court at any time for the extension, variation or revocation of the order and after all the parties have had an opportunity to be heard the court shall, in determining whether to

extend, vary or revoke an order, have regard to the matters specified in subarticle (4).

 

(7) If without reasonable excuse the accused contravenes any prohibition or restriction imposed upon him by an order under this article, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) of one thousand liri or to imprisonment not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

 

(8) The court may also order that any arm proper or arm improper, as defined in article 64, be deposited with the Court’s registrar.

 

412D. (1) Together with or separately from a protection order under article 412C, and provided the court is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made or can be made for treatment, the court may make an order (hereinafter in this article referred to as a "treatment order") requiring a person to submit to treatment subject to the conditions which the court may deem appropriate to lay down in the order:

 

Provided that where any person is convicted with an offence, a treatment order by the court may be made with or without the consent of the convicted person and in the case of a person accused with an offence, a treatment order may only be made with the consent of the accused.

 

(2) The treatment may be of any of the kinds specified in article 7(5) of the Probation Act.

 

(3) The provisions of article 412C(5) and (6) shall apply to an order under this article.

 

(4) If at any time during the period that the order is in force it is proved to the satisfaction of the court that the person has failed to comply with any of the requirements or conditions of the order, the court may impose on such person a fine (ammenda) not exceeding five hundred liri.

 

646. (1) Subject to the ensuing provisions of this article, witnesses shall always be examined in court and viva voce.

 

(2) The deposition of witnesses, whether against or in favour of the person charged or accused, if taken on oath in the course of the inquiry according to law, shall be admissible as evidence:

 

Provided that the witness is also produced in Court to be examined viva voce as provided in subarticle (1) unless the witness is dead, absent from Malta or cannot be found and saving the provisions of subarticle (8):

 

Provided further that where the witness is a minor under sixteen years of age and an audio and video-recording of the testimony of the minor is produced in evidence the minor shall not be produced to be examined viva voce unless the Court otherwise directs for a reason which arises after the date of the said testimony of the minor and considered by the Court to be in the interest of the administration of justice and the discovery of the truth.

 

647A. Without prejudice to the provisions of articles 646 and 647, the court may, if it deems it proper so to act, allow for the audio-recording or for the video-recording of any evidence required from a witness as aforesaid, in accordance with such codes of practice as the Minister responsible for justice may, by regulations, prescribe.

 

698. (1) The Minister may make regulations to establish a scheme for the compensation of victims of crime under such conditions and restrictions and subject to such considerations and qualifications as the Minister may provide and to establish a fund to finance such a scheme.

 

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subarticle (1), any scheme established under this article:

 

(a) may be of general application extending to all crimes or may be limited to such crimes as may be specified in the regulations;

 

(b) may provide that compensation by Government to the victim shall only be payable when the victim has

exhausted all remedies available to him against the offender for the payment of damages suffered by the

victim;

 

(c) may provide for a ceiling on the amount payable to any individual victim or group of victims by way of

compensation under the scheme.

 

(3) The Government shall be subrogated in the rights of the victim against the offender for the payment of any sums received by the victim from the Government in accordance with any scheme established by regulations under this article.

 

 

 

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 9.12

CRIMINAL INJURIES COMPENSATION

REGULATIONS

20th July, 2007

LEGAL NOTICE 190 of 2007, as amended by Legal Notice 252 of 2007.

 

Part I

INTRODUCTORY

 

1. (1) The title of these regulations is the Criminal Injuries Compensation Regulations.

 

(2) The purpose of these regulations is to implement the provisions of Council Directive 2004/80/EC relating to compensation to crime victims.

 

2. In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

 

"Assisting Officer" means a person appointed under regulation 3 who shall be the assisting authority;

"award" means an award of compensation made in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme referred to in regulation 5;

 

"Claims Officer" means a person appointed by the Minister under article 5 who shall be a deciding authority;

 

"compensation" means compensation payable under an award;

 

"criminal injuries" means any damage suffered as a consequence of a criminal act;

 

"dependants" means the persons maintained by the deceased and the persons who were entitled by law to require to be maintained by the decease;

 

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Justice;

 

"violent intentional crime" means an act which constitutes a crime under the Criminal Code as specified in the Schedule.

 

3. The Assisting Officer shall be appointed by the Minister on such terms and conditions as he considers appropriate and shall receive applications and assist in their evaluation in accordance with these regulations.

 

4. (1) An application for compensation under these regulations shall be submitted to the Assisting Officer to be forwarded to the Claims Officer who shall determine awards and payments of compensation. The Claims Officer shall be appointed on such terms and conditions as the Minister considers appropriate.

 

(2) Applications shall be submitted within a reasonable period of time and in any case not later than one year from when the violent intentional crime was committed. Applications must be accompanied by a police report.

 

(3) The Claims Officer may, at his discretion, request any other additional evidence with the purpose, among other things, to ensure that compensation has not been awarded or will not be awarded from any other source including, if need be, an affidavit by the applicant and may call the applicant to be medically examined or re-examined.

 

5. Compensation may be paid in accordance with this Scheme:

 

(a) to an applicant who has sustained a criminal injury on or after 1st January, 2006; and

(b) where the victim of an injury sustained on or after 1st January, 2006 has since died, to an applicant who is a qualifying claimant for the purposes of regulation 11.

 

6. The persons entitled to compensation are:

 

(a) citizens of Malta; and

 

(b) citizens of one of the Member States of the European Union.

 

7. No compensation will be paid under this Scheme where the criminal injury was sustained before 1st January, 2006.

 

8. The Claims Officer may withhold or reduce an award where he considers that:

 

(a) the applicant failed to take, without delay, all reasonable steps to inform the police, or other body or

person considered by the Claims Officer to be appropriate for the purpose, of the circumstances giving rise to the crime; or

(b) the applicant failed to co-operate with the police or other authority in attempting to bring the assailant to

justice; or

(c) the applicant has failed to give all reasonable assistance to the Claims Officer or other body or person in connection with the application; or

(d) the conduct of the applicant before, during or after the incident giving rise to the application makes it

inappropriate that a full award or any award at all be made; or

(e) the applicant’s character as shown by his criminal convictions or by evidence available to the Claims

Officer makes it inappropriate that a full award or any award at all be made.

 

Part II

ENTITLEMENT TO COMPENSATION

 

9. The Claims Officer will consider claims for compensation made by or on behalf of:

 

(a) the person who was the victim of the crime;

(b) any person responsible for the maintenance of the victim who has suffered pecuniary loss or incurred any expenses as a result of the crime;

(c) where the victim has died as a result of the crime, any  dependent of the victim or, if he has no dependant, any person who incurred expenses as a result of his death;

(d) where the victim has died otherwise than as a result of the crime, any dependent of the victim.

 

10. Where the Criminal Court, by virtue of article 532A of the Criminal Code, has already established the compensation due to the victim/s of the crime, the Claims Officer will not assess that claim but will proceed to pay compensation subject to the provisions of these regulations.

 

11. Where the victim has died since sustaining the injury the Claims Officer may award compensation to any claimant as provided for in articles 1045, 1046, 1047 and 1048 of the Civil Code.

 

12. Compensation will be by way of a lump sum payment, rather than a periodical pension, but it will be open to the Claims Officer to make an interim award and to postpone making a final award in a case in which a final medical assessment of the injury is delayed.

 

13. No compensation will be payable where the Claims Officer is of the opinion that the offender is not indigent or unless proof has been produced that legal action to claim compensation has proved to be fruitless.

 

14. No compensation will be payable to an applicant who has not, in the opinion of the Claims Officer, given the Claims Officer all reasonable assistance in relation to any medical report that he may require, and otherwise.

 

15. No compensation will be payable where the Claims Officer is satisfied that the victim was responsible either because of provocation or otherwise, for the offence giving rise to his injuries and the Claims Officer may reduce the amount of an award where, in his opinion, the victim has been partially responsible for the

offence.

 

16. No compensation will be payable where the Claims Officer is satisfied that the conduct of the victim, his character or his way of life make it inappropriate that he should be granted an award and the Claims Officer may reduce the amount of an award where, in his opinion, it is appropriate to do so having regard to the conduct, character or way of life of the victim.

 

17. The Government shall be subrogated into the rights of the victims of the crime against the perpetrator, whether known or unknown.

 

18. No payment to any claimant shall exceed the sum of ten thousand liri (Lm 10,000) and such sum shall not be exceeded where there is more than one claimant claiming by virtue of the same crime.

 

19. Payments received by the claimants shall be considered to be part of the civil damages sustained.

 

20. There shall be an Assisting Officer who shall be free to draw up and publish any instructions he considers necessary regarding the procedure for administering these regulations. However, these instructions will be consistent with the provisions of these regulations and with the general intention that the administration of these regulations and, in particular, proceedings before the Assisting Officer, should be informal.

 

21. Applications should be made on the required application form, which is obtainable from the Secretary to the Assisting Officer.

 

22. To qualify for compensation it will be necessary to indicate to the Claims Officer that the offence giving rise to injury has been the subject of criminal proceedings or that it was reported to the Police without delay.

 

23. The Claims Officer’s staff will process applications in the first instance and may seek all relevant information as to the circumstances of the injury either from the applicant or otherwise.

 

24. An applicant may be accompanied by his legal adviser or another person but the Claims Officer will not pay the costs of legal representation.

 

25. Hearings will be held in private.

 

26. The standard of proof, which the Claims Officer will apply to a determination of any claim, shall be on the balance of probabilities.

 

27. The Claims Officer will be entitled to make any arrangements that he considers desirable for the administration of money he awards as compensation.

 

SCHEDULE

 

The crimes referred to in articles 211, 217 and 218 of the Criminal Code and any other offence which is accompanied by such crimes

 

Other Relevant Provisions (cross-references from the above legislation)

 

From the Criminal Code

 

64. (1) Arms proper are all fire-arms and all other weapons, instruments and utensils which are mainly intended for defensive or offensive purposes.

 

(2) All other weapons, instruments or utensils are not considered as arms, except when they are actually made use of for any offensive or defensive purpose, in which case they are called arms improper.

 

211. (1) Whosoever shall be guilty of wilful homicide shall be punished with imprisonment for life.

 

(2) A person shall be guilty of wilful homicide if, maliciously, with intent to kill another person or to put the life of such other person in manifest jeopardy, he causes the death of such other person.

 

(3) Where the offender gives cause to the death of a person within the limits of the territorial jurisdiction of Malta, the homicide shall be deemed to be wholly completed within the limits of the said jurisdiction, notwithstanding that the death of such person occurs outside such limits.

 

314A. (1) Whosoever, maliciously, delivers, places, discharges or detonates a lethal device likely to endanger the life or to cause serious injury to the property of any other person, shall be liable,

on conviction, to the punishment laid down in article 311, even though no injury to such person or property has been actually caused.

 

(2) If as a result of the offence referred to in subarticle (1) any person shall perish, or a grievous bodily harm is caused to any person, or any serious spoil, damage or injury to or upon any movable or immovable property belonging to any person is caused, the offender shall be liable to the punishments laid down in article 312 as the case may be.

 

(3) Where the offence takes place in, or is directed at, a public place, a state or government facility, an infrastructural facility or a public transportation system the punishment for the offence shall be increased by one degree.

 

(4) In this article:

 

"lethal device" includes any thing that is designed, or has the capability, to cause death, serious bodily injury or substantial material damage through the release, dissemination or impact of toxic chemicals, biological agents or toxins or similar substances or radiation or radioactive material;

 

"state or government facility" includes any permanent or temporary facility or conveyance that is used or occupied by representatives of a State, members of Government, the legislature or the judiciary or by officials or employees of a State or any other public authority or entity or by employees or officials of an

intergovernmental organization in connection with their official duties;

 

"infrastructure facility" means any publicly or privately owned facility providing or distributing services for the benefit of the public, such as water, sewage, energy, fuel or communications;

 

"public transportation system" means all facilities, conveyances and instrumentalities, whether publicly or privately owned, that are used in or for publicly available services for the transportation of persons or cargo.

 

311. Any person who maliciously causes, by an explosive substance, an explosion of a nature likely to endanger the life or to cause serious injury to the property of any other person, shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term from three to fourteen years, even though no injury to such person or property has been actually caused.

 

312. (1) If as a result of the offence referred to in the last preceding article, any person shall perish, the offender shall be liable to the punishment of imprisonment for life.

 

(2) If as a result of the offence referred to in the last preceding article, a grievous bodily harm is caused to any person, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment for a term from four to twenty years.

 

(3) If as a result of the offence referred to in the last preceding article, any serious spoil, damage or injury to or upon any movable or immovable property belonging to any person is caused, the punishment therein mentioned shall not be awarded in its minimum.

 

412C. (1) Where a person (hereinafter in this article and in article 412D referred to as "the accused") has been charged or accused with an offence before the Court of Magistrates whether as a court of inquiry or as a court of criminal judicature, the court may, on reasonable grounds, for the purpose of providing for the

safety of the injured person or of other individuals or for the keeping of the public peace or for the purpose of protecting the injured person or other individuals from harassment or other conduct which will cause a fear of violence, issue a protection order against the accused.

 

(2) A protection order may impose any restrictions or prohibitions on the accused that appear to the court necessary or desirable in the circumstances in order to give effect to any of the purposes mentioned in subarticle (1).

 

(3) Without limiting the nature of the orders which may be made under subarticle (1), a protection order may do all or any of the following:

 

(a) prohibits or restricts the accused from approaching or following the movements of the injured person or any other individual specified in the order; or

(b) prohibit or restrict access by the accused, for a period not exceeding six months or until final  judgement, to premises in which the injured person, or any other individual specified in the order, lives, works or frequents even if the accused has a legal interest in those premises; or

(c) prohibit the accused from contacting or molesting the injured person or any other individual specified in the order.

 

(4) Before making an order, the court shall take into account:

(a) the need to ensure that the injured person or other individual specified in the order is protected from

injury or molestation; and

(b) the welfare of any children or any dependants who may be affected by the order; and

(c) the accommodation needs of all persons who may be affected by the order, in particular of the injured

person, his children and his other dependants; and

(d) any hardship that may be caused to the accused or to any other person as a result of making the order; and

(e) the accused’s willingness or otherwise to submit to such treatment as the court may deem appropriate; and

(f) any other matter that, in the circumstances of the case, the court considers relevant:

 

Provided that particular attention shall be given to the matters in paragraphs (a), (b) and (e).

 

(5) A protection order shall remain in force for a period, not exceeding three years, specified by the court, but can be revoked or extended for further periods.

 

(6) A party to the proceedings in which an order has been made under this article or any other individual mentioned in the order, may apply to the court at any time for the extension, variation or revocation of the order and after all the parties have had an opportunity to be heard the court shall, in determining whether to

extend, vary or revoke an order, have regard to the matters specified in subarticle (4).

 

(7) If without reasonable excuse the accused contravenes any prohibition or restriction imposed upon him by an order under this article, he shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) of one thousand liri or to imprisonment not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(8) The court may also order that any arm proper or arm improper, as defined in article 64, be deposited with the Court’s registrar.

 

532A. The provisions of article 24 of the Probation Act concerning the power of the court to order the offender to pay damages shall mutatis mutandis also apply whenever a person is sentenced upon conviction for any crime.

 

From the Civil Code (Chapter 16 of the Laws of Malta)

 

1045. (1) The damage which is to be made good by the person responsible in accordance with the foregoing provisions shall consist in the actual loss which the act shall have directly caused to the injured party, in the expenses which the latter may have been compelled to incur in consequence of the damage, in the loss of

actual wages or other earnings, and in the loss of future earnings arising from any permanent incapacity, total or partial, which the act may have caused.

 

(2) The sum to be awarded in respect of such incapacity shall be assessed by the court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, and, particularly, to the nature and degree of incapacity caused, and to the condition of the injured party.

 

1046. Where in consequence of the act giving rise to damages death ensues, the court may, in addition to any actual loss and expenses incurred, award to the heirs of the deceased person damages, as in the case of permanent total incapacity, in accordance with the provisions of the last preceding article.

 

1047. (1) The damage which consists in depriving a person of the use of his own money, shall be made good by the payment of interest at the rate of eight per cent a year.

 

(2) If, however, the party causing the damage has acted maliciously, the court may, according to circumstances, grant also to the injured party compensation for any other damage sustained by him, including every loss of earnings, if it is shown that the party causing the damage, by depriving the party injured of the use of his own money, had particularly the intention of causing him such other damage, or if such damage is the immediate and direct consequence of the injured party having been so deprived of the use of his own money.

 

(3) The sum to be awarded in respect of such loss of earnings shall be assessed by the court having regard to the circumstances of the case.

 

1048. Where a person is liable for the damage caused by another person, and discharges his liability, he may not seek relief against the party causing the damage, except where the latter is also answerable for such damage.

 

From the Probation Act (Chapter 446 of the Laws of Malta)

 

7. (1) The court may, subject to the provisions of the following subarticle, instead of sentencing the offender, make a probation order, that is to say, an order requiring the offender to be under the supervision of a probation officer for a period to be specified in the order of not less than one year and not more than

three years.

 

(2) Any order made in accordance with subarticle (1) shall only be made if:

 

(a) the offender is convicted of an offence, not being an offence punishable only with a fine (multa or

ammenda), and not being an offence which apart from any increase of punishment in view of continuity or of previous convictions, which is punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years;

and

 

(b) the court is satisfied that the supervision of the offender by a probation officer is desirable in the

interest of securing the rehabilitation of the offender and, or protecting the public from harm from the

offender or preventing the commission of further offences; and

 

(c) having regard to the circumstances of the case, including the nature of the offence and the character of

the offender, the issue of such order is appropriate:

 

Provided that where in the opinion of the court circumstances, which are to be clearly stated in the order, exist that merit the placing of the offender under a probation order in the case of an offence which, apart from any increase of punishment in view of continuity or of previous conviction, is punishable with

imprisonment for a term exceeding seven years but not ten years, the court may make a probation order:

Provided that the Court may, if it deems it to be in the best interest of the person accused, issue a  provisional order of supervision of the accused by a probation officer, even during any criminal proceedings, under such conditions as the Court may deem fit.

 

(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of the following subarticles of this article, a probation order may in addition require the offender to comply during the whole or any part of the probation period with such requirements as the court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, considers necessary for securing

the good conduct of the offender or for preventing a repetition by the offender of the same offence or the commission of other offences, and the court may also give to the probation officer such directions as it may deem necessary for securing these purposes.

 

(4) A probation order may include requirements relating to the residence of the offender:

 

Provided that -

 

(a) before making an order containing any such requirements, the court shall consider the home

surroundings of the offender; and

(b) where the order contains any such requirements, the place at which the probationer is to reside thereat shall be specified in the order. If the probationer is required to reside in an institution, the period for which the offender is required to reside shall not extend beyond twelve months from the date of the order.

 

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subarticle (2), where in the opinion of the court the mental condition of the offender is such as requires and as may be susceptible to treatment, but not such as to justify other measures or procedures, or where the court is satisfied that -

 

(a) the offender is a drug addict; and

(b) that proper arrangements have been or can be made for treatment, a probation order may include a requirement that the offender shall submit to treatment not exceeding the length of the order by or

under the directions of a suitably qualified person with a view to the improvement of the offender’s mental condition or with a view to freeing the offender from drug addiction. The treatment may be of any of the following kinds:

 

(c) treatment as a non-resident patient in a hospital or other appropriate agency or institution;

(d) treatment as a resident patient in a hospital or other appropriate agency or institution; or

(e) treatment by or under the direction of a suitably qualified person as may be specified in the order.

In any such case an amendment of the order under article 10 may also be made on an application made by a suitably qualified person, in conjunction with the probation officer responsible for the treatment of the offender.

 

(6) Where the court deems that such an order may help in the rehabilitation of the offender, it may include as a condition in the probation order, an order that for a period not exceeding six weeks the probationer shall, when not required to be out to work or study, present himself and remain at such residential institutions as may be approved by the Minister for the purpose, provided that such requirement may be restricted by the court to Saturdays and public holidays and the period after seven in the evening on the eve of Saturdays and public holidays.

 

(7) Before making a probation order, the court shall explain to the offender, in ordinary language, the effect of the order including any additional requirements proposed to be inserted therein under subarticle (3), subarticle (4), subarticle (5) or subarticle (6), and that if the offender fails to comply therewith or commits another offence, the offender will be liable to be sentenced for the original offence. If the offender is not  less than fourteen years of age, the court shall not make the order unless the offender expresses willingness to comply with the requirements thereof.

 

(8) The court by which a probation order is made shall forthwith give copies of the order to the probationer, to the Director who shall assign a probation officer to be responsible for the supervision of the probationer, and to the person in charge of any institution or hospital or other place in which the probationer is required by the order to reside. If the probationer is a minor, a copy of the probation order shall also be furnished to the parent or person charged with the upbringing of the probationer, if any.

 

10. (1) The court by which the probation order was made may, upon application made by the Director or by the probationer, cancel the order.

 

(2) The court by which the probation order was made may, upon application made on a report from the probation officer or upon application made by the Director or by the probationer, by order amend a probation order by cancellin g any of the requirements thereof or by inserting therein, either in addition to or in substitution for any such requirement, any requirement which could be included in the order if it were then being made by that court in accordance with the provisions of article 7:

 

Provided that -

(a) the court shall not amend a probation order by reducing the probation period to less than one year or

by extending that period beyond the end of three years from the date of the original order,

(b) when the court proposes to amend a probation order, otherwise than on the application of the  probationer, it shall summon the probationer to appear before the court, and if the probationer is not less than fourteen years of age, the court shall not amend a probation order until the probationer expresses willingness to comply with the requirements of the order as amended.

 

(3) On the making of an order cancelling or amending a probation order, the provisions of article 7(7) and (8) shall mutatis mutandis apply.

 

(4) Where, under the following provisions of this Act, a probationer is sentenced for the offence for which he was placed on probation, the probation order shall cease to have effect. The court shall direct that a copy of the judgment be transmitted without delay to the Director.

 

24. (1) A court, on making a probation order, community service order, combination order, an order for conditional discharge or on discharging any offender absolutely may, without prejudice to its power of awarding costs under articles 380 and 533 of the Criminal Code, order the offender to pay such damages for injury or compensation for the loss as the court thinks reasonable.

 

(2) An order for the payment of damages or compensation as aforesaid may be enforced in like manner as if it had been given in a civil action between the offender and the person to whom the damages or compensation are ordered to be paid:

 

Provided that nothing in this article shall derogate from any right of such person to recover any greater amount by any other means from the offender or any other person liable to pay the same.

 

Sections 380 & 533 from the Criminal Code as above indicated in Section 24

 

380. (1) In the case of proceedings instituted on the complaint of the injured or aggrieved party, including the cases referred to in article 374(c) and (d), the court shall also decide as to the costs and, where the  persons sentenced are two or more, the court shall direct whether such costs are to be borne by them jointly or severally.

 

(2) The fees of the advocate or legal procurator for either party shall be taxed by the court in the judgment itself at a rate ranging from twenty-five to sixty cents for every sitting.

 

(3) The provision of subarticle (2) shall apply also in the cases referred to in article 374(c) and (d), as well as in the case where the complainant waives the action, if the advocates or legal procurators of the parties have appeared at the trial.

 

(4) If more than one advocate or legal procurator appear on behalf of any of the parties, such party may only recover from the unsuccessful party the fee of one advocate or legal procurator.

 

(5) Where the complaint is evidently frivolous or vexatious, it shall be lawful for the court, at the request of the defendant, to sentence the complainant to a fine (ammenda), and in default of payment of such fine (ammenda), the provisions contained in article 13(2) shall apply.

 

(6) The registry fees shall be taxed and levied in accordance with the scale in Schedules A and B annexed to this Code.

 

374. In proceedings instituted on the complaint of the injured party, the following provisions shall apply:

 

(c) if neither of the parties shall appear, the cause shall be struck off the list;

 

(d) if the complainant does not appear and the defendant alone appears, the latter may demand his discharge;

 

13. (1) Where it is not otherwise specifically provided, the maximum of a fine (ammenda) is twenty-five liri and the minimum is three liri.

 

(2) In default of payment of a fine (ammenda) within the period prescribed in article 14, the fine (ammenda) shall be converted into detention at the rate of one day for every five liri or fraction

thereof:

 

Provided that in no case (save as provided in article 29(1), in article 17(g) and in article 53) shall detention in substitution for a fine (ammenda) exceed one month.

 

14. (1) A person sentenced to a fine (ammenda or multa) shall pay the same forthwith. Nevertheless the court may, for a reason to be recorded, order that the person sentenced shall pay the fine to the registrar within such period as the court in passing sentence shall direct:

 

Provided that, in the case of a fine (ammenda) of twentyfive liri or less, the said period shall not be more than ten days, and, in the case of a fine (ammenda) of more than twenty-five liri, or in the case of a fine (multa), the said period shall not be more than one month:

Provided that in default of payment of the fine (multa or ammenda) within the time laid down by the court in its sentence or, failing a time-limit in the sentence, within the time of one week from the date of the sentence, the said fine shall be converted forthwith into imprisonment or detention as provided in articles 11 and 13 as the case may be, and the police shall, by virtue of the authority conferred upon them by the sentence and by this proviso, arrest the person sentenced and shall escort him to the place designated according to law for the confinement of persons sentenced to a fine convertible into imprisonment or detention according to law:

 

Provided further that the court may, notwithstanding the provisions of articles 11 and 13, in passing sentence of a fine (ammenda or multa) determine any other period of detention or imprisonment which the offender shall undergo in default of payment thereof forthwith or within the prescribed time, as the case

may be; but the period of detention or imprisonment so determined shall in no case exceed the period laid down in articles 11 and 13, respectively.

 

(2) The court may also in its discretion in passing sentence or at any time thereafter direct that any fine (ammenda or multa) to which any person is sentenced, may be paid by instalments in such amounts and in relation to such recurrent intervals as the court may deem fit, but so nevertheless that the period over which the whole amount shall be paid shall in no case exceed three years, and that in default of payment of any one such instalment the whole of the amount outstanding shall become and be immediately due and payable, and all the provisions of this Code applicable to a sentence of fine (ammenda) or of fine (multa) and to arrest and detention or imprisonment, as the case may be, in default of payment thereof, shall apply to the same accordingly.

 

11. (1) Where it is not otherwise specifically provided, the maximum of a fine (multa) is five hundred liri and the minimum is ten liri.

 

(2) Where the maximum of a fine (multa) prescribed in this Code or in any other law is less than ten liri, the maximum shall be ten liri and the minimum shall be five liri.

 

(3) In default of payment of a fine (multa) within the period prescribed in article 14, such fine (multa) shall be converted into imprisonment at the rate of one day for every five liri:

 

Provided that in no case (save as provided in article 17(g) and in article 29(1)) shall imprisonment in substitution of a fine (multa) exceed six months if the fine is not higher than two thousand liri, one year if the fine is not higher than ten thousand liri, eighteen months if the fine is not higher than thirty thousand

liri and two years if it is higher than thirty thousand liri.

 

17. In the case of concurrent offences and punishments, the following provisions shall apply:

 

(g) in the case of conversion of more than one pecuniary punishment into a punishment restrictive of personal liberty, the duration of this punishment shall not exceed three years, in the case of a fine (multa), or six months in the case of a fine (ammenda); and if both fines (multa and ammenda) have been awarded, the  conversion shall be made into detention or imprisonment as the court shall direct;

 

29. (1) Any person sentenced to the payment of a fine (ammenda or multa) and who is granted the benefit of time by order of the court according to the provisions of article 14(2), and who does not pay such fine in accordance with the conditions laid down in the same order, shall be liable to be arrested and brought before the court; and the court, upon ascertaining the identity of the person sentenced and that payment has not been paid according to the conditons of the order, shall commit such person to undergo the detention or imprisonment prescribed in substitution for the fine (ammenda or multa), or in substitution of the balance of the fine (ammenda or multa) still unpaid, as the case may be. The arrest shall take place upon a warrant to be issued by the court.

 

53. Where a person sentenced for a contravention shall, within three months from the date of the expiration or remission of the punishment, commit another contravention, he may be sentenced to detention for a term not exceeding two months, or to a fine (multa), or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month.

 

From the Identity Card Act (Chapter 258 of the Laws of Malta)

 

3. (1) Every person over the age of fourteen years who –

 

(a) has resided in Malta for not less than six months immediately before the coming into force of this

article and continues so to reside for one month thereafter; or

(b) at any time resides in Malta for a period of six months ending after the expiration of one month after the

coming into force of this article, shall, not later than two months after the coming into force of this article in the case of a person mentioned in paragraph (a), or not later than six weeks after he shall have resided in Malta for six months in the case of a person mentioned in paragraph (b), be in possession of a valid identity card, and shall thereafter at all time during which he resides in Malta be in possession of a valid identity card; and for this purpose he shall make application therefor in accordance with the provisions of this Act not later than one month after the commencement of the applicable period of two months or six weeks aforesaid.

 

(2) For the purposes of this Act temporary absences from Malta shall not interrupt residence.

 

(3) Identity cards may also be issued to such class or classes of persons as the authorised officer may deem appropriate or as may be prescribed.

 

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