Body of laws gets a makeover

Law Commissioner Franco Debono is set to embark on an ambitious and painstaking exercise to review the Laws of Malta.

Section 3 of the Statute Law Revision Act stipulates that "from time to time at intervals of not less than ten years," the justice minister may appoint a Commissioner, or a body of Commissioners to carry out a revision of the statute laws of Malta.

However, almost 30 years have elapsed from the last time the laws of Malta were revised.

The last time such an exercise was carried out was in 1984 by the last appointed Law Commissioner, Edgar Mizzi. The previous similar exercise dates back to the 1940s when former President Anthony Mamo was responsible for the revision of laws.

"In 1984, Malta was a developing country and the laws reflected a certain reality. Since then the country has gone through many changes and Maltese society has changed drastically since 1984. Therefore we need to update the body of laws in order to reflect the present day realities," Debono said.

Speaking to MaltaToday, the Law Commissioner explained that the process would take at least three to four years to complete.

He said that the body of laws needed to be revised to make sure that they reflected "today's modern society," adding that a number of archaic laws which date back to the 19th Century need to be repealed or updated to reflect a contemporary modern European society.  

Moreover, a number of laws have been approved by parliament but never enforced through the publication of a legal notice. "What's the use of introducing laws but not putting them into force?" Debono asked.

Currently there are 527 chapters of the Laws of Malta, however Debono believes that these could be cut down to around 300. Debono noted that he had received positive feedback from all stakeholders, including the Chamber of Advocates and the Attorney General's office.

Parliamentary Secretary for Justice Owen Bonnici expressed his confidence in the Law Commissioner and said that The Statute Law Revision project proposed by the Debono is "highly ambitious, but I am sure that his energy and verve will lead to the fulfillment of this project".

Pointing out that Debono's vast experience in the field as Chairman of the Consolidation of Laws Committee, Bonnici said the Law Commissioner "is well focused and keen to build a team of legal experts to give this important service to the country".

The now defunct re-codification and consolidation of laws Parliamentary committee had set itself the monumental task of categorising Maltese Law by subject.

Assisted by the Dean of the Faculty of Law Kevin Aquilina, the committee had presented a draft list of 37 chapters of the Laws of Malta according to broadly classified topics with the intent to be develop the list into Codes or consolidated laws.

The draft chapters proposed by the parliamentary committee chaired by Debono included Administrative Laws, Civil Laws and Agricultural and Fisheries Laws among others.

These chapters would encapsulate all relevant laws which are currently scattered in the body of laws, while removing any irrelevant laws such as the Distribution of German Enemy Property Ordinance and the Weighers' Examination Regulations from 1935, which stipulates that applicants for a licence to act as a public weigher must be at least 18 years old, have a clean conduct and pay an admission fee of 'fifty-eight cents'.

Other laws, such as the Clean Air Act from 1968, was repealed and replaced by the Public Health Act introduced in 2003.

However, parts of this law have yet to be enforced because the government has never issued a legal notice.