ACT No. XIX of 1981 AN ACT to provide for the establishment of a system for the depenalisa­ tion and trial of petty cases.

I assent.

ANTON BUTTIGIEG

(L.S.)

President

12th June, 1981

ACT No. XIX of 1981

AN ACT to provide for the establishment of a system for the depenalisa­

tion and trial of petty cases.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Par1iament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

This Act may be cited as the Commissioners for Justice

(1)

Act, 1981.

(2) This Act shall come into force on such date as the

Minister responsible for justice may by notice in the Gazette appoint,

and different dates may be so appointed for different provisions and dif­

ferent purposes of this Act.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"Commissioner" means a Commissioner for Justice appointed

according to section 3 of this Act;

"Court of Magistrates" means the Court of Magistrates of

J udicial Po1ice as Court of Criminal J udicature;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for justice;

"scheduled offence" means an offence set out in the Schedule

to this Act;

"scheduled offence specified in the charge" means an offence

to which the charge issued by the Executive Police in accordance

with the provisions of section 5 of this Act, refers, and inc1udes

such other infringement in addition there to or in substitution there­

for as a Commissioner may, in accordance with subsection (5) of

section 5 of this Act, authorise.

(1) There shall be appointed Commissioners for Justice who

shall separately have the functions and powers assigned to them by this

Act, that is to say -

(a) to consider any charge brought before them by the Execu­

tive Police in accordance with section 5 of this Act;

(b) to hear \vitnesses on oath or affirmation and to examine

such evidence as may be produced before them;

(c) to determine whether, on the evidence so produced, the

scheduled offence specified in the charge has or has not been

proved to have been committed by the person charged;

(d) to order the payment of such penalty as they may imposc

in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section 8 of

this Act, and

generally, for the purpose of exercising their functions and powers, the

Commissioners shall have, rnutatis mutandis, all such powers as are, by

the provisions of Book S�cond of the Criminal Code, vested in the Court

of Magistrates.

(2) An act or omission shall not, for the purposes of this

Act, be eonsidered to be a crimina1 act notwithstanding the provision of

sueh la'IN as is set out in the Schedule to this Act, but shall nevertheless

be de·;;med to constitute an infringement for which a Commissioner may,

in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section 8 of this

Act, order the payment of the penalty therein specified.

(3) Saving the provisions of section 9 of this Act, the Court

of Magistrates shall not have jurisdiction to try a scheduled offence

Provided that the Court of Magistrates shall have jurisdiction

try any scheduled offence which is charged together with any other

to

offence over which the said Court h3S jurisdiction.

(1) The Commissioners shall be appointed by the Prime

Minister from persons of either sex who have completed forty years of

age.

(2) A Commissioner shall be appointed for a term of two

years and shall vacate his office at the expiration of the term of his

appointment.

(3) The Commissioners shall not be re-eligible for appoint­

ment before three years have elapsed since the previous appointment.

(4) During their tenure of office the Commissioners may not

be removed except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a

Magistrate may be removed from office.

(5) In the exercise of his function a Commissioner shall not

be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.

(6) The provisions of the Criminal Code regarding the

abstention and chal1enge of Magistrates shall apply to the abstention and

chal1enge of a Commissioner.

(7) Where a Commissioner has been objected to or has

abstained from sitting, or is otherwise unable to <let, another Com­

missioner shall be surrogated in his stcad by the Minister.

(�) The Minister shall designate a public officer to be Sec­

retary to the Commissioners, and may also detail other public officers

to assist the Secretary in the performance of his duties. The Secretary

(0 the Commissioners shall have, mutatis mutandis, such powers and

duties as are by the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure vested Capo 15

in th e Registrar of the Courts.

(9) Upon his appointment, a Commissioner sha11 take an

oa th to examine and decide the cases brought before him with impartial­

ity a nd eguity according to law. The oath shall be taken before the

Attorney General.

(10) A Commissioner shall hold sittings on such days and at

such time as the Minister may determine and such sittings may he held

on Saturdays and outside the hours when the Registry of the Superior

Courts is considered c1osed.

(11) The sittings sha11 be held in the buildings where the

ordinary courts normally hold their si t tin g s unless the Minister by notice

in the Gazette otherwise directs.

( 12)

by a

The wa rrants

or orders

sha li

be signed

Com­

missioner.

The oath to the witnesses shall be administered by a

(3)

Commissioner.

(14) The Commissioners shall receive such remuneratio.n as

the Minister respol1sible for justice, in consultation with the Minister

of Fi n a n c e may from time to time prescribe. Such remuneration may

,

110t be altered to the disadvantage of a Commissioner during his period

of office.

(l) The Executive Police shall have the duty to colIect Proceedings

before a

evidence and to cbarge offenders before a Commissioner in respect of

Commissioner.

any scheduled offence over which a C01l11l1issioner, in accordance with

the provisions of this Act, may exercise his functions.

(2)

The Executive Police shall, by an order in writing, SU111-

111011 t h e person charged with a scheduled offence to appear before a

Commissioner on the day and at the time specified in the said o r der.

(3) The SU1l11l10ns shall contain a clear designation of the

person summoned and a brief statement of the facts of the charge

together with such particulars as to time and place as it may be neces­

sary or practicable to give. It shall also contain an intimation that, in

default of appearance, the person summoned shall be arrested by a war­

rant of a Commissioner and arraigned on such day as may be stated in

tlJe warrant.

(4) The SU1l1mons shall a1so contain a form of consent by

which the person charged may, under his signature, authorise a Com­

missioner to proceed with the hearing of the charge in his absence. The

person charged may deposit such form duly signed a t any Police Station

for onward transmission to a Commissioner.

(5) A Commissioner 1l1ay at any stage during the proceedings,

authorise the addition of a fresh charge on a scheduled offence or the

substitution of any charge contained in the summons by another charge

on a scheduled offence

Provided that the person charged shall be afforded a reaSOJl­

able time within which to prepare for his defence

Provided that any addition Of substitution may o n Jy be effeet­

ed before the proseeution closes its ease.

The provisions of the Criminal Code relating to proeeedings

before the Court of Magistrates shall apply mutatis mutandis to pro­

eeedings before a Commissioner a nd a reference made tn t h e Court of

Jud i c ial Poliee in that Code shall, for all intents and p ur p o s e s of taw, be

deemed to be a r e f erence made to a Commissioner

Provided that a Commissioner may proeeed with the h ear in g of

the eharge in the absence of t h e person charged w h e r e such person has

given his consent to such proeeedings on the form to which subseetion

(5) of sec t io n 5 of this Aet applies and the prosecuting: officer does not

object.

The Registry of the Courts of Magistrates of Judicial Police

shall be the Registry of the Commissioners and the r ee o rd s of t h e Com­

'

missioners shal1 be deposited therein.

(1) Where a Comm issioner decides that the person eha rged

has not cOl11mittecl the seheduled offence s p e c ifi e d in the dE! rge, the

person to whom sueh decision a p p li es sha.!l 110t, in rcspeet of sueh

offenee, be subject to any f u rt h e r proeeedings before a Commis-;ioner 01'

before any court.

(2) W h e r e a Commissioncr deeides that the person charged

has committed the scheduled offence specified in t h e charge, a Com­

missioner shall cleclare sueh perS011 guilty of an infringement and shall

order sueb person to pay a penalty i11 an amount 110t exeeeding the maxi­

mum of the fine (multa 01' mnmerui(!) p r e scr i b e d by law for the offence.

(3) Where a Commissioner ha s m a de an order for the pay­

ment of sueh pe n alt y the Seeretary shall, as s o o n as such order is m<1de,

,

proceed to the colleetion of the penalty.

(4) A ny person ordered to P1Y a penalty under subsectioll

(3) of this seetion who, without Jawful exeuse, the proof of which shall

lie with sueh person, fails to pay sueh pCl1aIty within a month from the

day on w h i c h the order is made, shall be guilty of an offence againsL

this Act, anel s ha B on eonviction. be liable to a fine <ammenda) of one

,

round for every d a y durin g which the defau1t continues after the expira­

tion of the said time.

(5) The amount of the penaJty shall be duc a nd owing to

t h e Government as a civil debt, liquidated and certain, and may be

colleeted hy the Registrar of' the Courts a f te r obtaining from a Com­

missioner the issue of a warrant of seizure against the property of the

debtor; and a Commissionermay, for the purposes of this subsection,

order the issue of the warrant in the order whereby t h e payment of the

penalty is imposed on the person charged in accordance with the provi­

sions of subseetion (2) of this s e ction

.

(6) The civil debt mentioned in subsection (5) of this se c tio n

sha11 not pass on to the heirs of the person ordered to pay a n y such

penalty.

(l) Any per son who feels himself aggrieved by the decision Applications

to Court of

of a Comm.issioner may, within six working days from the day on which ludicial Police.

such decision is given, apply to the Court of Judicial Police to have the

judgement of a Commissioner revoked Of varied, and the court afore­

said shall thereupon become vested with jurisdiction to decide upon the

merits of the application.

(2) For the purpose of exercising its functions under this

seetion, the Court of J udieial Police shall pro'Ceed in aecordanee with

the provisions of the Criminal Code

Provided that the decision on the merits of the application to

the Court of Judicial Police sha1J not be subject to appeal before any

other court.

(3) The Court of Judicial Police may, if it considers the

application frivolous or vexatious, order the appellant to pay a penalty

not exceeding 1:50.

(J) Action before a COl11m issioner shaH be subject to the same

rules of prescription which may from time to time be applicable to the

criminal action taken in r espe c t of an offence mentioned in the Sche-

dule to this Act.

(2) The period of prescription of the criminal action in res­

peet of an offence mentioned in the Schedule to this Act shall be sus­

pended by the proeeedings before a Commissioner.

The Minister responsible for justice may make regulations

prescribing or l'elating to the p r o ce d u r e to be fo1\owed by the Commis-

sioners and any other matter that may be expedient for the better carry-

ing into effeet of this Act.

Where on the coming into force of this Act, a person has

already been charged in respect of a scheduled offence before the Court

of J udicial Police and the stage of the proceedings to whieh p aragraph

(a) of section 387 of the Criminal Code refers has not yet been reached,

the proceedings upon s1.1eh charge sh a 11 be taken before a Commissioner;

a nd all the provisions of this Act concern ing procedure shall be deemed

to have been fuIly complied with.

SCf-JEDULE

Section 2

Offences, which become infringements and may be tried by the Commissioners,

against the foJ1owing:-

l.

Tra//ic Re g u l at ia n O,.c/inance (Cap. 105)

Section 3, l1A.

2. Ma/or Vehicles Regulations, 1948

Regulation 1 8 , 19, 21, 24, 24A, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 3 1 A 32, 33, 34, 35, 35A, 35D,

,

35E, 35F, 350, 35J, 57, 58, 58A, 58B, 59, 60, 61, 6 2 6 3, 6 4 , 65, 65A, 66, 67,68, 68A,

,

68B. 69,70,71,.72, 72A, 73 t o 85, 88 to 92, 92A, 92B, 92D, 93,99, 100A, 101, 102A, 103.

3. Code of Police Laws ( Ca p. 13)

Sec tion 186A.

4. Food, Drugs and Drinking Water Act, 1972

Food Hygiene R e g u l a t io n s , 1969

Regulation 25.

5. Supplies and Services Act, 1947

Agricultural Produce (Marketing) Regulations, L952

Regulation 17.

6. Litter Act, 1968

Section 3, 4, 5, 8.

7. Education Act, 1974

Section 19.

Passed by t he House of Representatives at Sitting No. 510 of the lOth June,

1981. c. AGiuS

Speaker

C. MIFSUD

Clerk to the House of Representatives

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