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The Public Health Amendment Act (Act X of 2020)

Author: Adrian Camilleri
Published on

On the 25th March 2020, the Maltese parliament enacted Act X of 2020 (the “Amending Act”) intended to amend the Public Health Act (the “Principal Act”), in so far as a new proviso was added to article 27 of the Principal Act (which article grants certain powers to the Superintendent of Public Health including that of making orders) which reads as follows:

“Provided that the power of the Superintendent to prescribe such other matter as the Superintendent may deem expedient for the prevention or mitigation of such disease shall include and shall be deemed to have always included the power to provide for any matter which is ancillary or consequential to an order issued under this paragraph including the suspension of any time limits including, but not limited to, legal or judicial time limits, which shall be deemed to include periods of prescription, and any peremptory time limits provided for in any other law as a consequence of the order for the closure of government departments or other places from where public services are provided or of any other order issued under this paragraph as the Superintendent deems expedient”.

This proviso intends to remove any doubts (which have recently been questioned) as to the powers of the Superintendent of Public Health when issuing an order under Article 27 of the Principal Act. The Amending Act makes it now clear that an order issued under the Principal Act includes and shall be deemed to have always included the power to provide for any matter which is ancillary or consequential to that same order. This proviso gives a non-exhaustive list of matters which can be included in such an order, such as the suspension of any time limits including, but not limited to, legal or judicial time limits, which shall be deemed to include periods of prescription, and any peremptory time limits provided for in any other law as a consequence of the order for the closure of government departments or other places from where public services are provided or of any other order issued by the Superintendent.

The Amending Act furthermore confers powers unto the Commissioners for Justice established under the Commissioners for Justice Act to hear and decide cases of alleged breaches of any order issued by the Superintendent under the Principal Act. Any person found guilty of such an offence shall be liable to a penalty between €1,000 and €10,000.

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