ACT No. XXIX of �981 AN ACT to provide for the recognition of consumers' organizations and to provide for other matters connected therewith. (il-ministru)

I assent.

(L.S.)

ANTON BUTTIGIEG

President

31st July, 1981

ACT No. XXIX of �981

AN ACT to provide for the recognition of consumers' organizations

and to provide for other matters connected therewith.

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

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

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

This Act may be cited as the Consumers Protection Act, 1981.

Short titIe.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise r e quire s

Interpretatiol1.

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"consumers' organiz8.tion" means a voluntary b:)dy of persons

recognised by the Minister for the purposcs of this Act and 'vvhose

principal aim is to promote the protectioll and education of con­

s u mers and to keep the general public informed about the quality,

"goods" means anything produced or imported in Malta

or

sold 01' s upplie d or offered for sale or supply in Malta;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for Trade

.

.3. H the Minister is satisfied that a voluntary body of persons

Powers and

seeking to be recogni:z;ed for the purpose of this Act complied with such

rights of

consumers'

conditions as he may deem fit he shall officiaHy recognize sHch body

organization.

23 a ccnsumers' organization and shall pub1ish in the Gazette the name of

such org2.nization, toge�hcr with the n8.�'.1es of t1tc members of its Com­

mittee . Any three well r:!.5L'1bers func!ioni12g tog e the r shall be deemed to

.

represent and to be acting on beha1f of the said organization .

Jekk il-Ministru jkun sodisfatt li għaqda volontarja ta' persuni

li tkun trid tiġi magħrufa għall-fini ta' dan l-Att tkun ħarset dawk il­

kondizzjonijiet li jidhirlu xierqa dan għandu jagħraf uffiċjalment dik

l-għaqda bħala organizzazzjoni ta' konsumaturi u għandu jippubblika

fil-Gazzetta l-isem ta' dik l-organizzazzjoni, flimkien ma' l-ismijiet tal­

membri tal-Kumitat tagħha. Kull tliet membri bħal dawn li jaħdmu

flimkien jitqiesu li jirrappreżentaw u li qed jaġixxu f'isem l-imsemmija

organizzazzjoni.

l'Totwithstanding any other provIslOn of law a eonsumers'

organization shall be exempt from any liability, whetheT civil OT criminal,

if in any of its statements, publications or any other commu.nication to

the public, it gives, with reference to any goods, bona fide information

intended for the protection or education of the consumer. Sueh exemp­

tion shall extend to all persons publishing, printing or recording such

information by any means whatsoever.

The Minister may grant to a consumers' organization sueh

faeilities as he may deem fit in order to enable it to exercise its functions.

(l) Any person who contends that any infQrmation as is

referred to in section 4 of this Act is not given bona fide, may make a

written protest to the Minister, adducing all the relevant evidence on

which he bases his complaint, and the Minister shall within eight days,

refer the matter for consideration by the Committee established in

accordance with subsection (2) of this section.

(2) There sha11 be a Committe (in this section referred to as

the "Committee") consisting of five members appointed by the House

of Representatives from among its members one of whom shall act as

Chairman; the Chairman and two of the members shall be proposed by

the Prime Minister and the other tvv'O members shall be proposed by the

Leader of the Opposition.

(3) The Committee shall eonsider the merits of the protest

and shall within fifteen days report to the Minister whether the eomplaint

is justified; and, in its report the Committee may inc1ude any sueh

reeommendation as it may deem appropriate; a copy of the report of the

Committee shall be eommunicated to the cOl1sumers' organization and

to the person making the protest.

(4) The Committee may act notwithstanding any vaeancy in

its membership, but shall not act unless at least three members are

present.

(5) The decisions of the Committee shall be taken by a

majority of votes and in the case of an equality of votes the Chairman

shall have a seeond or casting vote.

(6) Subjeet to the provisions of this section the Committee

shall regulate its own procedure and shall have the right to obtain, under

such eonditions as it may deem proper, any information, advice or

expert opinion from any source it may deem appropriate to consult.

(7) Where the Committee reports to the Minister that the

information given on any goods by a eonsumers' organization is or is not

bona fide, as the ease may be, no Court or Tribunal in Malta shall have

jurisdiction to enquire further into sueh matter; but sueh Court or

Tribunal may proceed to eonsider any other matter falling within its

jurisdiction and eonsequential upon the conc1usion reaehed by the Com­

mittee as if such conc1usion had been a conc1usion reached in a

judgement which has beeome fina1.

A

1. The Minister may in his absolute discretion at any time Withdrawal of

withdraw the official recognition of any consumers' organization, and recognition.

such withdrawal shaH have effect from the day of publication of a notice

to that effect in the Gazette.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 530 of the 28th July,

1981. C. AGIUS

Speaker

C. MIFSUD

Clerk to the House of Representatives

Ippubblikat mit-Taqsima tat-Tagħrif - Kastilja

Published by the Information Division - Kastilja

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Mit!mgħ fI-Istamperija tal-Gvern

Printed at the Gove/'1lment Printing Press

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Il-Ministru jista' fid-diskrezzjoni assoluta tiegħu f'kull żmien

jirtira t-tagħrif uffiċjali ta' xi organizzazzjoni ta' konsumaturi u l-irtir

għandu jkollu effett mid-data tal-pubblikazzjoni ta' avviż għal hekk fil­

Gazzetta.

Mgħoddi mill-Kamra tad-Deputati fis-Seduta Nru. 530 tat-28 ta' Lulju, 1981.

C.AGIUS

Speaker

C. MIFSUD

Skrivan tal-Kamra tad-Deputati