L.N. 126 of 2022

PUBLIC HEALTH ACT(CAP. 465)

Period of Quarantine (Amendment No. 6) Order, 2022

1.(1) The title of this order is the Period of Quarantine(Amendment No. 6) Order, 2022 and this order shall be read andconstrued as one with the Period of Quarantine Order, hereinafterreferred to as "the principal order".

(2) This order shall come into force on 2 May 2022.

2.Sub-article (3) of article 2 of the principal order shall besubstituted by the following new sub-article:

"(3) Any person arriving to Malta from any of thefollowing countries shall not be required to submithimself to any period of quarantine upon his arrival solong as that person is in possession of, either a vaccinationcertificate, or a negative Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) COVID-19 test performed not more than seventy-two (72) hours prior to arrival in Malta, or a negativeCOVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) performed not morethan twenty-four (24) hours prior to arrival in Malta, or acertificate of recovery from COVID-19 valid for not morethan one hundred and eighty (180) days after the date ofthe first positive Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)COVID-19 test result:

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L.N. 301 of 2021

Public Health Act

(SEC. 465)

Travel ban (Extension to all countries) (Amendment No. 4), 2021

IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by section 27(c) of the Public Health Act, the Superintendent of Public Health has issued the following order:

(1) The title of this Ordinance shall be the Travel Prohibition (Extension to All Countries) Ordinance (Amendment No. 4), 2021, and this Ordinance shall be read and construed as one with the Travel Prohibition (Extension to All Countries) Ordinance, hereinafter referred to as "the principal Ordinance".

Article 2 of the principal ordinance shall be replaced by the following new article:

"2. (1) Any person travelling to Malta from the list of countries listed in this Ordinance, by air or sea, shall provide a Passenger Location Form (PLF form) upon arrival in Malta.

(2) The Superintendent of Public Health shall extend the travel ban order from all countries to Malta:

Provided that: 

(a) cargo flights, ferry flights, humanitarian flights, and repatriation flights are exempt from this order; 

(b) cargo vessels, including container ships and ro-ro vessels carrying essential goods and products and tankers loaded with essential fuels are exempt from this Ordinance; and 

(c) the Superintendent of Public Health may, in his or her absolute discretion, provide exemptions from the provisions of this Ordinance, by notice in the Gazette or by protocols issued, already in effect orally, for that purpose, when, in the judgment of the Superintendent of Public Health, the travel of certain persons or goods, or for certain services, is deemed necessary or essential: 

Provided, That persons may travel from Malta to the countries listed in this clause and from the countries listed in this clause to Malta provided that, upon their arrival in Malta, they are in possession of a certificate of vaccination:

Austria;

Cyprus;

Czech Republic;

Denmark;

Estonia;

Finland;

Hungary;

Iceland;

Ireland;

Germany;

Latvia;

Lithuania;

Luxembourg;

Norway;

Italy;

France;

Slovakia;

Switzerland;

Greece;

Croatia;

Spain;

Poland;

Belgium;

Bulgaria;

Netherlands;

Canada;

Australia;

New Zealand;

South Korea;

Andorra;

Monaco;

San Marino;

China;

Vatican City;

Israel;

Singapore;

Slovenia;

Japan;

United States, but limited to the following states: Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, West Virginia, North Dakota, Georgia, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Tennessee

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L.N. 127 of 2022

PLANT QUARANTINE ACT (CAP. 433)

Seeds of Agricultural Plants and Vegetables (Amendment) Regulations, 2022

1. (1) The title of these regulations is the Seeds of Agricultural Plants and Vegetables (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 and these regulations shall be read and construed as one with the Seeds of Agricultural Plants and Vegetables Regulations, hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

(2) The scope of these regulations is to transpose Commission Implementing Directive (EU) 2021/1927 of 5 November 2021 amending Annexes I and II to Council Directive 66/402/EEC as regards the requirements for seeds of hybrid wheat produced by means of cytoplasmic male sterility.

1. Schedule II to the principal regulations shall be amended as follows:

• point C of Section 1, Part I, Cereals, thereof shall be substituted by the following new Point: "C. Crops to produce certified seed of hybrids of Avena nuda, Avena sativa, Avena strigosa and self- pollinating xTriticosecale and crops to produce certified seed of hybrids of Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum subsp. aestivum, Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta and Triticum turgidum subsp. durum, by means of a technique other than Cytoplasmic Male Sterility (CMS):"; and

• immediately after point 3 of Point C of Part I of Section 1 thereof there shall be added the following new point:

"4. Crops to produce basic and certified seed of hybrids of Triticum aestivum subsp. aestivum, Triticum aestivum subsp. spelta and Triticum turgidum subsp. durum by means of CMS:

• The crop shall conform to the following standards as regards distances from neighbouring sources of pollen, which may result in undesirable foreign pollination:

The crop shall have sufficient varietal identity and purity as regards the characteristics of the components.

In particular, the crop shall conform to the following standards:

a) The percentage by number of plants, which are obviously not true to type, shall not exceed:

- for the crops used to produce basic seed, 0.1% for the maintainer and the restorer line and 0.3% for the CMS female component, and

- for the crops used to produce certified seed, 3% for the restorer and 0.6% for the CMS female component and 1% in case the CMS female

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  L.N. 73 of 2021

MALTA TRAVEL AND TOURISM SERVICES ACT

(CAP. 409)

 

Licensed Accommodation Regulations, 2021

In exercise of the powers conferred by article 47 of theTravel and Tourism Services Act, the Minister for Tourism andConsumer Protection has made the following regulations:

 

Citation.

1.The title of these regulations is the LicensedAccommodation Regulations, 2021.

 

Interpretation.

2.(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwiserequires:Cap. 409."the Act" means the Malta Travel and Tourism Services Act;"holiday premises" shall have the same meaning as given to"holiday premises" under the Act;"occupy" and any variation of the same word throughout theseregulations shall be construed as meaning as not just consisting ofpersons staying at a tourism accommodation establishment or a room oraccommodation unit within a tourism accommodation establishment forat least one overnight, but shall also include any person that is foundpresent at a tourism accommodation establishment or a room or accommodation unit within a tourism accommodation establishment even if such person does not intend in staying overnight at the same; S.L. 409.08."tourism accommodation establishments" shall have the same meaning as assigned to "tourism accommodation establishments"under regulation 2 of the Tourism Operations (General) Regulation.(2) Words and expressions used in these regulations and whichare also used in the Act, shall have, unless the context otherwiserequires, the same meaning as in the Act.

 

Conditions of licence.

3.The number of persons occupying a tourism accommodation establishment duly licensed by the Authority or a room or an accommodation unit within a tourism accommodation establishment duly licensed by the Authority shall not exceed the number of licensed beds as indicated in the licence issued by the Authority.

Provided that where a licence of a holiday premises issued by the Authority does not specify the number of beds, no more than tenpersons shall occupy the licenced holiday premises: Provided further that where a licence of a tourismaccommodation establishment, not being a holiday premises, does notspecify the number of beds per room or accommodation unit, then nomore than two persons shall occupy such room or accommodation unit within the tourism accommodation establishment.

 

Offences and penalties.

4.(1) Any person who is found to be:(a) occupying a tourism accommodation

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Authority on the Responsible Use of Cannabis Act, 2021
Government Gazette of Malta No. 20,753 – 18.12.2021

ACT No. LXVI of 2021

1. What is the reform all about?

The Government, following the launch of a white paper and months of consultation, has put forward a law that will change the way we regulate cannabis in Malta.

2. What is the reform changing?

Many things, including what cannabis is, how much cannabis is allowed as one’s possession, the growth of plants in homes, and how cannabis can be obtained in a safe and regularised manner without the need to resort to illegal traffickers and criminals.

3. What does the change in definition of cannabis mean?

Prior to the reform, the law still referred to "Indian Hemp" - an old term that does not give a detailed definition of cannabis. The reform is specifying to a great detail which parts of the plant are to be considered as cannabis, and excludes cannabis and cannabis products that contain less than 0.2 per cent THC, in line with the rulings of the European Court of Justice.

4. What does "cannabis possesion" mean?

By possession, we understand the amount of cannabis one is carrying on his/her person. Previously, possession of up to 3.5 grams led to proceedings before a Commissioner of Justice and a fine. With this reform, unless there is a suspicion of trafficking:

• Possession of up to seven grams does not give rise to any proceedings, arrests, or fines

• Possession of between 7 grams and 28 grams does not lead to arrest, but leads to proceedings before the Commissioner of Justice, and a fine of between 50 and 100

This will reduce the number of individuals who end up in the criminal justice system and imprisoned.

5. But if cannabis is found on me, can I be arrested?

No - unless the police have a reasonable suspicion of drug trafficking.

6. And will they confiscate the cannabis?

If it weighs less than 7 grams, they do not.

7. Does this apply to everyone?

This change applies to anyone 18 years of age or older. If minors are found to be in possession of cannabis, they are brought before the Commissioner of Justice, to see if any treatment is needed to keep them away from drugs and protect them.

8. So If I am an adult I can smoke cannabis wherever I want?

No. The Consumption of cannabis in public still leads to a fine of 235 euro. If cannabis is consumed in the presence of minors, that fine will be increased to between 300 and 500 euro, and this is done in order to safeguard and protect

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 L.N. 75 of 2021

PUBLIC HEALTH ACT
(CAP. 465)

Closure of Food and Drink Outlets Regulations, 2021

IN  EXERCISE  of  the  powers  conferred  by  article  26  of  thePublic Health Act, the Minister responsible for public health, afterconsultation with the Superintendent of Public Health, has made thefollowing regulations:

Title.

1.The title of these regulations is the Closure of Food and Drink Outlets Regulations, 2021.

Closure of food and drink outlets.

2.(1)  All bars and clubs shall not open for business andshall remain closed. (2)  Restaurants,  snack  bars  and  kiosks  shall  remain  closedexcept to provide delivery and take-away services to the community.Restaurants situated in hotels or in other licensed accommodationsmay remain open only to provide services to their guests.

Fines and penalties.

3.Any person who fails to abide by these regulations shall beguilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to the paymentof a penalty of six thousand euro (€6,000) for each and every occasionon which these regulations are breached.

Date of remaining in force and transitory provision.

4.These regulations shall remain in force until 11 April 2021:Provided that these regulations, even after 11 April 2021,shall remain in force for the purposes of any act, decision, action orproceedings taken in respect of any breach of the said regulations thatoccurred or were instituted under or by virtue of these regulations.