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Maltese Laws |
REFUGEES ACT
AN ACT to make provisions relating to and establishing procedures with regard to refugees and asylum seekers.
1st October, 2001
ACT XX of 2000, as amended by Act VIII of 2004; Legal Notices 40 of
2005 and 426 of 2007; and Act VII of 2008.
"applicant for asylum" means a third country national or stateless person who has made an application for asylum in respect
of which a final decision has not yet been taken by the Commissioner or the Refugee Appeals Board;
"application for asylum" means an application made by a third country national or a stateless person which can be understood
as a request for international protection under the Convention;
"the Board” means the Refugee Appeals Board as established by article 5;
"the Commissioner" means the Refu gee Commissioner; an d i n cl u d e s to t h e e x t e n t an d au t h or i t y g i ve
n, an y o t he r p e r s o n temporarily authorised in that behalf by the Minister;
"Convention" means the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees done at Geneva on 28th July, 1951, to which Malta
acceded on 17th June, 1971, and the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 31st January, 1967 to which Malta acceded
o n 15t h Sep t ember , 19 71 , sub j ect to t h e declarati ons an d reservations made by Malta;
" C onv entio n Tr a v el Docume nt" me ans the tra v el do cumen t referred to in article 28 of the Convention;
"country of origin" means the country or countries of nationality or, for stateless persons, of former habitual residence;
"declaration" means a declaration that a person is a refugee;
"dependent mem b ers of the family" m eans the spouse of the refugee, provided th e marriage is subsisting on th e da te
of the refugee’s application, and such children of the refugee who on the date of the refugee’s application are under the age
of eighteen years and are not married;
"determining authority" means the Refugee Commissioner;
"Directives" means Council Directive 2004/83/EC of 29 April
2004 on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third
Short title. Interpretation.
Amended by:
VIII. 2004.2;
VII. 2008.2.
Cap. 12.
country nationals or stateless persons as refugees or as persons who othe rwise need internationa l pr otection and the content of
the protection granted and Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1
December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member
States for granting and withdrawing refugee status;
"final decision” means a decision on whether the third country national or stateless person be granted refugee status or subsidiary
protection status which is not subject to appeal;
"first country of asylum" means that country where an applicant for asylum:
(a) has been recognised in that country as a refugee and he can still avail himself of that protection; or
(b) he otherwise enjoys sufficient protection in that country including benefiting from the principle of non- refoulement and subject to re-admission to that country;
" t h e Hi gh Co mm i ssi on er" m eans the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees or his representative;
"legal adviser" means a person who is authorised to practise the legal profession in Malta in terms of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure;
"manifestly unfounded application" means an application
(a) which is not related to refugee grounds as defined in the Convention; or
(b) which is totally lacking in substance and the applicant provides no indications that he would be exposed to fear of persecution
in his own country or his story contains no circumstantial or personal details; or
(c) in relation to which the applicant gives clearly insufficient details or evidence to substantiate his claim
and his story is inconsistent, contradictory or fundamentally improbable; or
(d) in relation to which applicant bases his application on a false identity or on forged or counterfeit documents which he maintains
as genuine when questioned about them; or
(e) in relation to which applicant deliberately made false representations of a substantial nature; or
(f) in relation to which applicant, without reasonable cause and in bad faith, destroyed, damaged or disposed of any passport,
other document or ticket relevant to his claim, either in order to establish a false identity for the purpose of his application
or to make the consideration of his application by the authorities more difficult; or
(g) in relation to which applicant deliberately failed to reveal that he had previously lodged an application for asylum in
another country; or
(h) in relation to which the applicant, having had ample earlier opportunity to submit an asylum application, submitted the
application in order to forestall an impending removal order from Malta, and did not provide a valid explanation
for not having applied earlier; or
(i) in relation to which applicant has flagrantly failed to comply with the substantive obligations imposed by Malta’s legal
provisions relating to asylum procedures; or
(j) prior to which the applicant had made an application for recognition as a refugee in a country party to the Convention, and
the Commissioner is satisfied that his application was properly considered and rejected in that country and the applicant
has failed to show a material change of these circumstances; or
(k) when the applicant for asylum comes from a safe country of origin;
"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for immigration, and any p ublic officer t o whom the Minister may delegate
i n writing any of the duties appertaining to him under this Act;
"prescribed" means prescribed by regulation, rule, order or other i n stru ment made un der any of t h e pro v isio ns
of thi s Act empowering the making of any such instrument;
"refugee" means a third country national who, owing to a well- founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable
or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not having a nationality and being
outside the country of his former habitual residence, as a result of such events is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to
return to it, but does not include a person excluded in terms of article 12:
Provided that in the case where a person has more than one nationality, the term "country", mentioned above, shall refer
to each country of which he is a national, and such a person shall not be considered as not having the protection of his country
if, without any founded fear of persecution, he has not sought the protection of one of the countries of which such a person is a
national:
Provided further that:
(a) acts of persecution within the meaning of Article 1A of the Convention must be sufficiently serious by their nature or repetition
as to constitute a severe violation of basic human rights, in particular the right from which derogation cannot be made
under Article 15(2) of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; or
(b) be an accumulation of various measures, including violations of human rights, which is sufficiently severe as to affect
an individual in a similar manner as in
Cap. 467.
paragraph (a);
"refugee status" means the recognition of a third country national or stateless person as a refugee;
"remain" means to remain in the territory, including at the border or in transit zones, of the Member State in which the
application for asylum has been made or is being examined;
"Member State" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by article 2 of the European Parliament Elections Act;
"safe country of origin" means a country of which the applicant for asylum:
(a) is a national; or
(b) being a stateless person, was formerly habitually resident in that country and he has not submitted any serious grounds
for considering the country not to be a safe country of origin in his particular circumstances;
"safe third country" means a country of which the applicant is not a national or citizen and where -
(a) life and liberty are not threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political
opinion;
(b) the principle of non-refoulement in accordance with the Convention is respected;
(c) the prohibition of removal, in violation of the right to freedom from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment as
laid down in international law, is respected;
(d) the possibility exists to request refugee status and, if found to be a refugee, to receive protection in accordance
with the Convention;
(e) the applicant had resided for a meaningful period of time prior to his entry into Malta;
"serious harm" means:
(a) death penalty or execution; or
(b) torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of an applicant in the country of origin; or
(c) serious and individual threat to a civilian’s life or person by reason of indiscriminate violence in situations
of international or internal armed conflict;
"subsidiary protection status" means the recognition of a third cou n try national or a stat el ess person as a person
elig ible for subsidiary protection under Part IV;
"unaccom panied m i nor" mean s a person below t h e age of eighteen years who arrives in Malta unaccompanied by an adult
responsible for him whether by law or by custom, for as long as he is not effectively taken into the care of such a person and includes
any minor who is left unaccompanied after he has entered Malta;
"wi t hdrawal of refu gee status" m e ans the deci sion b y a competent authority to revoke, end or refuse to renew the
refugee status of a person.
Refugee Commissioner.
(2) The Commissioner shall be appointed by the Prime Minister from among public officers or from among persons who in each case,
in the opinion of the Prime Minister, have knowledge and experience in matters relating to refugees.
(3) The Commissioner shall perform such functions as are conferred on him by this Act, and without prejudice to the general
ity of the ab ove, shall examine applications for refugee status and shall have the power to administer oath to any person.
(4) The Prime Minister may assign public officers to be members of the staff of the C o m m i ssion er as h e m a y consi
d er necessary to assist the Commissioner in the performance of his functions.
(5) (a) Without prejudice to the provisions of subarticle (4) there shall be such numbe r of Ass i s t a n t Refugee Com missioners (hereinafter
r eferred to as Assistant Commissioners) as the Prime Minister may by notice in the Gazette from time to time determine.
(b) The Assistant Commissioners shall be appointed by the Prime Minister from among public officers and from among persons who in each
case, in the opinion of the Prim e M i ni ster, h a ve kno wl edge and ex perienc e in matters relating to refugees.
(c) The Assistant Commissioners shall under the general direction of the Commissioner have such functions and powers as are conferred
on the Commissioner by this Act, and are ass i gned to each of them by the Comm issi oner, in cl uding the function and
po wer to examine applications for refugee status and to administer the oath to any person, and any reference in
this Act, other than in this article to the Commissioner s h a l l be deemed to inc l ude also reference to an
Assistant Commissioner in the exercise of any function assigned to him by the Commissioner.
1951 Convention on the Status relating to Refugees. Substituted by: VII. 2008.3.
Substituted by: VII. 2008.4.
Establishment of Refugee Commissioner. Amended by: VIII. 2004.3.
Substituted by: VII. 2008.5.
Establishment of Refugee Appeals Board.
Amended by: VIII. 2004.4.
Provided that at least one of the members of the Board shall be a person who has practised as an advocate in Malta for a period or periods amounting, in the aggregate, to not less than seven years.
Appointment. (2) The members of the Board shall hold office for a period of three years, and shall be eligible for reappointment.
(3) The Minister may also appoint a substitute chairperson and substitute members of the Board to sit on the Board whenever the
chairperson or members or any one of them is for some valid reason unable temporarily to attend and participate in the sittings of
the Board:
Provided that, as far as practicable, the same chairperson and the same members shall hear and conclude the same case.
(4) (a) There shall be such number of Chambers of the
Refugee Appeals Board as the Minister may prescribe.
(b) Where there is more than one chamber of the Board, cases shall be assigned to the various cham bers in ac co rdan ce wit h s u
c h rul e s a s t h e Min i st er ma y prescribe.
(c) Each chamber of the Board shall be composed of a chairperson and tw o ot he r m e m b e r s as pro v i d ed in subarticles
(1) to (3), which together with all the other provisions of this Act other than this subarticle shall ap ply wi th resp ect to each
chamber as i f reference therein to the Board were a reference to a chamber of the Board.
Removal. 6. A member of the Board may only be removed from office by t h e Pr ime Min i st er on t h e gr ou n d s of g r o ss n e gl ig ence, incompetence, or acts, omissions or conduct unbecoming a member of the Board.
Appeals to Board.
Amended by:
VII. 2008.6.
(2) Appeals to the Board shall be made within fifteen days from the notification on the applicant of the recommendation
of the Commissioner. Where the appeal is entered by the applicant a copy of the appeal shall be served on the Minister and the Commissioner.
Where the appeal is entered by the Minister a copy of the appeal shall be served on the applicant and the Commissioner:
Provided that the Appeals Board may assume that the applicant has implicitly withdrawn his application of appeal when
it is ascertained that:
(a) he has failed to provide information essential to his appeal unless the applicant demonstrates, within a reasonable
time, that his failure was due to circumstances beyond his control;
(b) he has abandoned or left without authorization the place where he lived or was held, without contacting the competent
authorities within a reasonable time or he has not, within thirty days, complied with reporting duties or other obligations to communicate.
(3) When an appeal is entered by the Minister, an applicant who is in custody in virtue only of a deportation or removal order
shall be released pending the decision of the Board.
(4) The Refugee Appeals Board shall, as the particular case may require, make arrangements to procure the attendance of an
interpreter to assist at the hearings.
(5) An appellant shall have the right to free legal aid under the same conditions applicable to Maltese nationals.
(6) Provided all the parties agree thereto, the sittings of the
Board shall be held in camera.
(7) A representative of the High Commissioner shall be entitled to attend the sittings of the Board.
(8) Subject to regulations made under article 25(1)(b), the Board shal l reg u late i t s own procedure. The Board shall also through the Chairperson have the power to administer an
oath to any person appearing before it.
(9) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, but without prejudice to article 46 of the Constituti o n o f Malta and without prejudice to the provisions of article 4 of the European Convent ion A c t the d e ci si on of the Board shall be final and conclusive and may not be challenged and no appeal may lie therefrom, before any
court of law, saving the provisions of article
7A.
(10) Where the Board finds in favour of the applicant the
Minister shall issue a declaration accordingly.
Cap. 319.
Provided that such application shall only be considered on t h e pr esen tati on o f new elemen ts or fi nd in gs, rel a t i n g
to t h e examin ation of whether t h e person makin g the su bsequen t application qualifies as a refugee, and of which the applicant
could not have been aware or which he could not have submitted.
(2) The person submitting a subsequent application shall:
(a) indicate facts and provide evidence which justify this procedure; and
(b) submit such new information within fifteen days from
Subsequent application after final decision. Added by:
VII. 2008.7.
the day on which the person making the subsequent application obtained such information.
(3) The examination may be conducted on the sole basis of written submissions and the person making th e sub s equ e nt application
is to be informed of the outcome of the examination and of his right for an appeal.
Qualification for refugee status. Amended by: VIII. 2004.5. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
I - Refugee Status
(2) A well-founded fear of persecution may be based on events which have taken place after applicant has left his country of origin
or activities engaged in by applicant since leaving the country of origin, except when based on circumstances which the applicant
has created by his own decision since leaving the country of origin.
(3) If the Commissioner recommends the acceptance of the application, the Minister shall make a declaration that applicant
is eligible for refugee status, or appeal against such recommendation.
Cessation of qualification for refugee status. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
(a) has voluntarily re-availed himself of the protection of the country of his or her nationality, or, having lost his nationality,
has voluntarily re-acquired it; or
(b) has acquired a new nationality and enjoys the protection of the country of his new nationality; or
(c) has voluntarily re-established himself in the country which he left or outside which he remained owing to fear of persecution;
or
(d) can no longer, because the circumstances in connection with which he has been recognised as a refugee
have ceased to exist, continue to refuse to avail himself of the protection of the country of his nationality; or
(e) is a person who has no nationality and, because the circumstances in connection with which he has been recognised as a refugee
have ceased to exist, is able to return to the country of his former habitual residence:
Provided that in paragraphs (d) and (e), regard shall be had as to whether the change of circumstances is of such a significant and non-temporary nature that the refugee’s
fear of persecution can no longer be regarded as well-founded.
(2) A person who is notified that he has ceased to possess refugee status shall be entitled to appeal against such decision
to
the Board with in fifteen days of such notification and the provisions of article 7 shall mutatis mutandis apply to such appeal. The decision of the Board shall be final.
Provided that he shall be informed in writing that his qualification for refugee status is being reconsidered, is given
reasons for such reconsideration and is given the opportunity to submit, in a personal interview, reasons as to why his refugee
status should not be withdrawn.
(2) The Minister may revoke or refuse to renew the protection granted to a refugee when:
(a) there are reasonable grounds for regarding him as a danger to the security of Malta;
(b) having been convicted by a final judgment of a particularly serious crime, he constitutes a danger to the community of
Malta.
(3) A person, in whose regard the Minister has revoked or refused to renew a declaration under subarticles (1) or (2),
shall be entitled to appeal against the revocation to the Board within seven days of the notification of the revocation to him, and
the provisions of article 7 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to such appeal.
Revocation or refusal to renew refugee status. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
(2) The provisions of article 7 shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to expulsion orders issued under this article.
(3) Any refugee to whom this article applies shall be allowed a reasonable period of time within which to seek legal admission
into another country.
Expulsion. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
(a) he falls within the scope of Article 1D of the Convention, relating to protection or assistance from organs or agencies of the United Nations other than the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. When such protection or assistance has ceased for any reason, without the position of such persons being definitely settled in accordance with the relevant resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, such persons shall ipso facto be entitled to the benefits of this Act; or
Exclusion. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
country in which he has taken residence as having the rights and obligations which are attached to the possession of the
nationality of that country, or equivalent rights and obligations.
(2) A third country national or a stateless person is also excluded from being a refugee where there are serious reasons
for considering that:
(a) he has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, as defined in the international
instruments drawn up to make provision in respect of such crimes; or
(b) he has committed a serious non-political crime outside the country of refuge, including particularly cruel actions even
if committed with an allegedly political objective, prior to his admission as a refugee; or
(c) he has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations as set out in the Preamble and
Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations.
(3) Subarticle (2) applies to persons who instigate or otherwise part i c ip at e in t h e co mm issi on o f the crimes or acts
mentioned therein.
Resettlement. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
Cap. 285.
II - Non-refoulement, treatment, resettlement and assistance
(2) An applicant for asylum shall have access to state education and training in Malta a n d to rec e ive s t ate medical care
and services.
(3) Any child or young person below the age of eighteen years fallin g within the sco p e of t h is Act who is found
un der circumstances which clearly indicate that he is a child or young person in need of care, shall be allowed to apply for asylum,
and for the pu rposes of this Act , shall b e assisted i n t e rms o f th e C h ildren and Yo ung Persons (Care Orders) Act, as if he were a child or young person under such Act.
Prohibition of refoulement. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
(2) The provisions of subarticle (1) shall not apply to a refugee or a person enjoying subsidiary protection in respect of whom there are reasonable grounds for regardin g him as a danger to the secu rit y of Malt a, or wh o, h a vin g b een conv ict e d b y a fi nal judgment of a particularly serious crime, constitutes a danger to the community.
III - Subsidiary Protection Status
Provided that a third country national or a stateless person is excluded from being eligible for subsidiary protection where there
are serious reasons for considering that:
(a) he has committed a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity, as defined in the international
instruments drawn up to make provision in respect of such crimes or is a person who instigates or otherwise participates in the
commission of such crimes; or
(b) he has committed a serious crime; or
(c) he has been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations as set out in the Preamble and
Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations; or
(d) he constitutes a danger to the community or to the security of Malta:
Provided further that paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) shall also apply to persons who instigate or otherwise participate in the commission of the crimes or acts mentioned therein:
Provided also that the decision concerning the granting of subsidiary protection shall be given in conjunction with the formal determination
that the applicant does not meet the criteria of a refugee under this Act.
(2) The Refugee Commissioner may exclude a third country national or a stateless person from being eligible for subsidiary pr
o t ec ti on if app l ica n t , p r io r t o h i s ad m i ssi on to M a l t a , h a s committed one or more crimes, outside the
scope of subarticle (1), which would be punishable by im prisonment had they been
Resettlement. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
Assistance. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
Qualification for subsidiary protection status. Substituted by: VII. 2008.8.
in order to avoid sanctions resulting from these crimes.
organizations, controlling the State or a substantial
refusal to renew subsidiary protection status. Added by:
VII. 2008.8.
protection status of a third country national or a stateless person if:
(a) after having been granted subsidiary protection status, that person should have been or is excluded from
being eligible for subsidiary protection in accordance with article 17(1); or
(b) that person’s misrepresentation or omission of facts, including the use of false documents, were decisive for the granting
of subsidiary protection status.
(2) Where the Commissioner is prima facie of the opinion, at whichever stage, that the application is manifestly unfounded, the Commissioner shall examine the application within
three working days and shall, where applicable, recommend that the application is manifestly unfounded.
(3) The recommendation shall immediately be referred to the Chairman of the Board who sh al l ex am ine a n d re v i e w the
recommendation of the Commissioner within three working days.
(4) The decision of the Chairman of the Board on whether the application is manifestly unfounded shall be final and conclusive
and, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, no appeal or form of judicial review shall lie before the Board or before
any other court of law.
(5) Where, following the procedures outlined in the previous provisions of this article, an application is rejected, the Chairman
of the Board shall send a copy of the decision with the grounds therefor to the Minister and the Commissioner.
(6) Any interview with the applicant under the foregoing provisions of this article shall, where necessary, be conducted
in private and with the assistance of an interpreter. The applicant shall also be info rm ed of hi s rig h t t o ob tain the serv
ices of a legal adviser to assist him during accelerated proceedings and to consult the High Commissioner.
(7) Where the application is considered not to be manifestly u n fou nded su ch ap pli c atio n shall be examined u nder n o
rmal procedures as provided under this Act.
(8) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing pr ovi si on s of th is a r ti cle, i f in th e pr ocess
o f exam in ing any app licati o n su bmi tted in terms of arti cl e 8, t h e Commissio n er arrives at the conclusion that the
application should be dealt with under accelerated procedures on the basis of its being prima facie manifestly unfounded or because
the applicant has found or could have found safe protection elsewhere in terms of the Convention and th e Dir e cti v es, the ap
pli c ati on sh al l b e deal t with un der accelerated procedures and the foregoing provisions of this article shall mutatis mutandis apply.
(9) If an applicant holds a travel document issued by a safe
Manifestly unfounded applications. Added by: VII. 2008.8.
third country pursuant to the Convention and the Directives, he may be declared to have been safe from persecution in such State and his application shall be dealt with under accelerated procedures in accordance with the foregoing provisions of this article.
Inadmissible applications. Added by: VII. 2008.8.
(a) another Member State has granted refugee status or is obliged to examine the particular application for asylum in terms
of Council Regulation (EC) 343/03 of
18 February 2003 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the Member State responsible for
examining an asylum application
lodged in one of the Member States by a third country national;
(b) a country which is not a Member State is considered as a first country of asylum for the applicant;
(c) a country which is not a Member State is considered as a safe third country for the applicant;
(d) the applicant is allowed to stay in Malta on some other grounds and as a result of this he has been granted a status comparable
to the rights and benefits of the refugee status;
(e) the applicant is allowed to stay in Malta on some other grounds which protect him against refoulement pending the outcome of a procedure for the determination of his status;
(f) the applicant has lodged an identical application after a final decision;
(g) a dependant of the applicant lodges an application after consenting to have his case be part of an application
made on his behalf, and there are no facts relating to the dependant person’s situation which justify a separate application;
(h) has been recognized in a country which is not a member state as a refugee and can still avail himself of that protection
or otherwise enjoys sufficient protection in that country, including benefiting from the principle of non-refoulement, and such person can be re-admitted to that country; or
(i) is a national or citizen of any safe country of origin listed in the Schedule or, if he is not a national or citizen
thereof, he has a right of residence therein.
(2) The provisions of article 22(2), (3), (4) and (5) shall apply
mutatis mutandis to inadmissible applications.
(3) The Minister may by regulations amend the list of countries specified in the Schedule, provided that only countries which in
his opini on are countries of safe origin may b e li sted in the said Schedule, sohowever that the Minister shall remove from the
said
Schedul e any coun try which i n his op inion is no longer a safe country of origin.
(a) regulating applications for a declaration and the procedure for and in relation to such applications;
(b) regulating with the concurrence of the Refugee Appeals Board, appeals under this Act to the Refugee Appeals Board
and the procedure for and in relation to such appeals and for providing that any person who contravenes or fails to comply with
the provisions of any one or more of such regulations shall be guilty of an offence against the regulations and for establishing
the penalty being not more than that to which such person shall on conviction be liable, a fine (multa) not exceeding one thousand and one hundred and sixty- four euro and sixty-nine cents (1,164.69) or imprisonment
not exceeding three months, or to both such fine and imprisonment;
(c) regulating the provision of legal aid to asylum seekers; (d) extending, with the concurrence of the Minister
responsible for social security, any of the provisions of
the Social Security Act to persons falling under this
Act;
(e) regulating the assignment and allocation of responsibilities and duties appertaining to the Minister under
this Act to a public officer;
(f) regulating, with the concurrence of the Minister responsible for labour, the granting of work permits to recognised
refugees and their family members, and persons enjoying subsidiary protection;
(g) for providing the means for facilitating the identification of applicants for refugee status and for communicating
such information, when requested, to the competent authorities of the countries with which Malta has related bilateral agreement
intended for such purposes or which are parties to international conventions related to refugees and to which Malta
is also a party and which provide for such exchanges;
(h) for implementing the provisions of the European Union Council Directives relating to refugees and ancillary matters;
(i) for providing that any person who contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of any one or more
Power to make regulations. Amended by:
L.N. 426 of 2007; VII. 2008.9, 10.
Cap. 318.
regulations, shall be guilty of an offence against the regulations and for establishing the penalty for infringement of
such regulations of a fine (multa) not exceeding two thousand and five hundred euro (€2,500) or imprisonment not exceeding three months, or of both such
fine and imprisonment.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, the Minister may u nder t h is sub a rticle m a ke regul ation s ,
mak i ng provisions adding to or derogating from the provisions of this Act, to enforce the provisions of any international convention
or other treaty relating to refugees, their status and protection, to which Malta may become a party provided the ratification of
such treaty
has been approved by a Reso lution of t h e Hou s e of
Representatives.
Transitory provision. Amended by: VII. 2008.9.
26. (a) Where, before the commencement of this Act, a person has made an application for refugee status before the High Commissioner but
a decision in relation thereto has not been made, the application shall be deemed to be an application under article 8 of this Act
and shall be dealt with in accordance with this Act.
(b) Without prejudice to the provisions of any other law, a person in Malta who before the commencement of this Act had already been
recognised as a refugee by the High Commissioner, shall upon his request continue to be regarded as such, and the pr ovisions of
this Act, where relevant, shall apply also to him.
(c) A person in Malta who before the commencement of this Act, although not recog n ised by th e High Comm issioner as a refugee,
enjoys hum anitarian protection g r anted to him by th e said High Commissioner, or whose case is one classified by the High
Commissioner as one of concern, shall upon his request continue to be regarded as such and shall enjoy humanitarian protection in
Malta as defined under this Act.
Added by: VIII. 2004.8. Amended by: L.N. 40 of 2005; VII. 2008.11.
SCHEDULE
(Article 24) Australia Iceland
Benin India
Botswana Jamaica
Brazil Japan
Canada Liechtenstein Cape Verde New Zealand Chile
Norway
Croatia Senegal
Costa Rica Switzerland
Gabon United States of America
Ghana Uruguay
Member States of the European
Union and European Economic Area
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