  _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA  _g CAP. 251.  1
CHAPTER 251
_GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA ACT
To provide for the institution of a society of honour to be known as  _Gieh   ir-Repubblika ,  to
make provision for the award of medals for courage and service to the Republic, for the
abolition of titles of nobility and the control of honours and decorations, and to provide for
matters ancillary or incidental to those purposes.
(17th October, 1975)*
Enacted by ACT XXIX of 1975, as amended by Acts: XXXVII of 1976, XIII of 1983, XIV of
1990, XI of 1991 and XV of 1993.
ARRANGEMENT OF ACT
* See  subsection (2) of section 1 of the Act as originally enacted, which subsection is being omitted under the
Statute Law Revision Act, 1980, and Legal Notice 125 of 1975.
  Sections
Short title  1 
Part I.  _Gieh ir-Repubblika 2-5 
Part II.  The National Order of Merit  6-9 
Part III.  Medals of the Republic  10-17 
Part IV.  Provisions applicable to Parts I, II and III  18-27 
Part V.  Titles of Nobility and Foreign Honours and
Decorations 
28-29 
  2      CAP. 251. _h   _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA 
Short title. 1. This Act may be cited as  _Gieh ir-Repubblika  Act. 
PART I
_GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA
Institution and 
motto.
2. (1) There shall be, and is hereby instituted a society of
honour to be known as _Gieh ir-Repubblika, hereinafter referred to
as Ix-Xirka or Xirka.
(2) The motto of the Xirka shall be "G_hall-_gid tal-Maltin".
Members of the 
Xirka. 
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.2.
3. (1) The Xirka shall consist of the members and honorary
members whom the President of Malta on the written advice of the
Prime Minister, shall from time to time appoint, in accordance with
and subject to the provisions of this Act.
(2) Only Maltese citizens shall be eligible to be appointed as
members of the Xirka and only persons who are not then Maltese
citizens shall be eligible to be appointed as honorary members of
the Xirka.
(3) Appointments as member or honorary member of the Xirka
shall be made for exceptional merit in the service of Malta or of
humanity.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (3) of this
section, any distinguished citizen of a country other than Malta
whom it is desired to honour may be appointed as an honorary
member of the Xirka.
Number of 
members.
4. (1) The President of Malta may appoint as members of the
Xirka - 
(a) not more than four persons in 1975; and
(b) not more than three persons every two years thereafter. 
(2) The total membership is limited to twenty.
(3) When the maximum number of members have been
appointed, a person may be appointed as a member only when a
vacancy occurs.
(4) Appointments shall have effect on Republic Day.
(5) The foregoing provisions of this section shall not apply to
appointments of honorary members.
Designation and 
insignia. 
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.3.
5. (1) A member or honorary member of the Xirka shall be
entitled to -
(a) have the letters S.G. (Sie_heb il-_Gieh) placed after his
name on all occasions when the use of such letters is
customary;
(b) wear as a decoration the insignia of the Xirka
prescribed in the rules made under this Act.
(2) The Head of the Xirka shall be entitled to wear as a
  _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA  _g CAP. 251.  3
decoration the insignia of the Xirka prescribed in the rules made
under this Act.
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.5.
PART II
THE NATIONAL ORDER OF MERIT
Institution and 
motto of Order. 
Added by :
XIV. 1990.5.
6. (1) There shall be, and is hereby instituted, a national order
of merit to be known as The National Order of Merit, hereinafter
referred to as the Order.
(2) The motto of the Order shall be "virtute et constantia".
Members of the 
Order. 
Added by:
XIV. 1990.5.
7. (1) The Order shall consist of members whom the
President, on the written advice of the Prime Minister, shall from
time to time appoint, in accordance with and subject to the
provisions of this Act.
(2) Only Maltese citizens shall be eligible to be appointed as
members of the Order.
(3) Honorary membership of the Order may be conferred on
foreign nationals who have distinguished themselves by their
service in the promotion and fostering of international relations or
who have earned the respect and gratitude of the people of the
Maltese Islands.
(4) References to membership or honorary membership shall
include all the grades of membership listed in section 8 of this Act. 
Grades of the 
Order.
Added by:
XIV.1990.5.
8. (1) The Order shall consist of four grades of membership:
Companions of Honour, Companions, Officers and ordinary
members.
(2) The number of members in each grade of the Order shall be
as follows:
(a) not more than three persons at any one time shall be
Companions of Honour of the Order:
 Provided that, in determining the number of
members in this grade, no account shall be taken of
such members who hold or have held the Office of
President of Malta or of Prime Minister;
(b) not more than twelve persons at any one time shall be
Companions of the Order: 
Provided that not more than four members of this
grade shall be appointed in 1990 and not more than
two persons in each year thereafter;
(c) not more than twenty persons at any one time shall be
Officers of the Order:
Provided that not more than seven members of
this grade shall be appointed in 1990, and not more
than three persons in each year thereafter; 
  4      CAP. 251. _h   _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA 
(d) not more than one hundred persons at any one time
shall be ordinary members of the Order:
Provided that not more than twenty members of
this grade shall be appointed in 1990, and not more
than ten persons in each year thereafter.
(3) Where the total number of members in a grade has been
appointed, additional members shall be appointed to that grade
when a vacancy occurs.
(4) Appointments shall have effect on Republic Day. 
(5) The provisions of subsections (2), (3) and (4) of this section
shall not apply to appointments of honorary members.
(6) The President of Malta and the Prime Minister shall by
virtue of their offices be Companions of Honour of the Order. All
former Presidents of Malta and all former Prime Ministers shall be
Companions of Honour of the Order.
Designations and 
Insignia of the 
Order. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.5.
9. (1) A member or honorary member of the Order shall be
entitled to wear such insignia of the Order as prescribed for his or
her grade in the rules made under this Act.
(2) Members of the Order shall be entitled to place the
following letters after their names on all occasions where the use of
such letters is customary - 
(a) Companion of Honour: K.U.O.M.; 
(b) Companion: K.O.M.;
(c) Officer: U.O.M.; 
(d) Member: M.O.M.
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.4.
PART III 
MEDALS OF THE REPUBLIC
Midalja g_hall- 
Qlubija. 
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.4, 6.
10. (1) A medal to be known as Midalja g_hall-Qlubija may be
awarded by the President of Malta, on the written advice of the
Prime Minister, to any Maltese citizen for an act of exceptional
bravery.
(2) The Midalja g_hall-Qlubija may also be awarded
posthumously.
Midalja g_hall- 
Qadi tar-
Repubblika. 
Amended by: 
XXXVII. 1976.2; 
XIV. 1990.4, 6.
11. (1) A medal to be known as Midalja g_hall-Qadi tar-
Repubblika may be awarded by the President of Malta, on the
written advice of the Prime Minister, to any Maltese citizen for
distinguished service to Malta.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this
section, the Midalja g_hall-Qadi tar-Repubblika may be awarded on
an honorary basis to any distinguished citizen of a country other
than Malta whom it is desired to honour.
(3) The Midalja g_hall-Qadi tar-Repubblika may also be
  _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA  _g CAP. 251.  5
awarded posthumously.
Number of medals. 
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.7.
12. (1) The President of Malta may award the Midalja g_hall-
Qadi tar-Repubblika -
(a) to not more than twenty Maltese citizens in 1990; and 
(b) to not more than ten Maltese citizens in any year
thereafter.
(2) The number of Midalji g_hall-Qadi tar-Repubblika that may
be held at any one time shall be limited to one hundred and no
award shall be made which will increase the number of medals then
held to more than one hundred.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (1) and (2) of this section no
account shall be taken of any award made on an honorary basis.
Designation and 
wearing of the 
Midalja g_hall- 
Qlubija.
 13. A person to whom a Midalja g_hall-Qlubija has been
awarded shall be entitled -
(a) to have the letters M.R.Q. (Midalja tar-Repubblika
g_hall-Qlubija) placed after his name on all occasions
when the use of such letters is customary; and
(b) to wear the medal as a decoration in accordance with
the rules made under this Act.
Designation and 
wearing of the 
Midalja g_hall- 
Qadi tar-
Repubblika.
14. A person to whom a Midalja g_hall-Qadi tar-Repubblika
has been awarded shall be entitled - 
(a) to have the letters M.Q.R. (Midalja g_hall-Qadi tar-
Repubblika) placed after his name on all occasions
when the use of such letters is customary; and
(b) to wear the medal as a decoration in accordance with
the rules made under this Act.
National 
Commemorative 
Medals. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8. 
Amended by: 
XI. 1991.2.
15. (1) The President, acting on the advice of the Prime
Minister, may cause the striking of medals to mark an event, or the
anniversary of an event, of national importance.
(2) National Commemorative Medals shall be awarded by the
President, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, to persons
who are worthy of the honour.
(3) No more than two national events shall be commemorated
by the striking of medals in any period of ten years, and such
medals shall only be struck to mark the national event itself, its
twenty-fifth, fiftieth or seventy-fifth anniversary or any of its
centenaries or half centenaries.
Long and Efficient 
Service Medals. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
16. (1) A Medal, to be known as Long and Efficient Service
Medal, hereinafter in this section called the medal shall be awarded
to qualifying members of disciplined forces by the Ministers
responsible therefor. After the award of the medal, clasps may be
given for additional qualifying service.
(2) Qualifying service for the medal and for clasps shall be that
laid down in the rules made under this Act.
  6      CAP. 251. _h   _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA 
(3) All members and former members of disciplined forces who
have served, on an aggregate basis, for the period stipulated in the
rules made under this Act, and have rendered efficient service
throughout, shall be eligible to be awarded the medal and clasp.
(4) For the purpose of this section disciplined forces mean -
(a) the Armed Forces of Malta;
(b) the Malta Police Force; and 
(c) the Malta Prison Service.
Wearing of 
medals. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
17. A person to whom a National Commemorative Medal or a
Long and Efficient Service Medal has been awarded, shall be
entitled to wear the medal in accordance with the rules made under
this Act.
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
PART IV
PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO PARTS I, II AND III
Nominations for 
membership of the 
Xirka and the 
Order, and for the 
award of medals. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
18. (1) There shall be a Nominations Committee, hereinafter
referred to as the Committee, appointed by the Prime Minister, for
such term and under such conditions as the Prime Minister may
determine, to propose candidates for membership of the Xirka, the
Order and for the award of medals; the Secretary to the Cabinet
shall be the Chairman of this Committee.
(2) In proposing candidates to the Prime Minister, the
Committee shall ensure that a nomination meets the criteria for
admission to the membership of the Xirka or the Order, or for the
award of a medal as the case may be, and, for this purpose, the
Committee shall have power to regulate its own procedure.
Officials. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
19. (1) The President of Malta shall be the Head of the Xirka
and of the Order.
(2) The Secretary to the Cabinet shall be the Chancellor of the
Xirka and of the Order.
(3) The President of Malta may, on the advice of the Prime
Minister, appoint such other officials of the Xirka and of the Order
as may be considered necessary.
(4) A person shall not be considered a member of the Xirka or
of the Order by reason only of his being an official of the Xirka or
of the Order.
Instrument of 
appointment. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
20. Appointments as member or honorary member of the Xirka
or of the Order shall be made by an official instrument signed by
the Head of the Xirka or the Order, under the authority of the Prime
Minister, and sealed with the Seal of the Xirka or of the Order, as
the case may be.
  _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA  _g CAP. 251.  7
Chancellor of the 
Xirka and of the 
Order. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
21. The Chancellor of the Xirka and of the Order shall keep
registers showing the names of the members and honorary members
of the Xirka and of the Order, and such other records relating to
membership of the Order as may be prescribed in rules made under
this Act, and shall perform such other functions in respect thereof
as the Head of the Xirka or of the Order may require him to perform
or as may be prescribed by the Act or any rules made thereunder.
Gazetting of 
appointments and 
awards. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
22. The appointment and promotion of members and honorary
members of the Xirka and of the Order and the award of medals
under the provisions of this Act shall be notified in the Gazette.
Termination of 
membership of 
Xirka, etc. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
23. (1) A person shall cease to be a member of the Xirka or of
the Order, or to be the holder of a medal awarded under this Act
upon:
(a) his or her death;
(b) his or her resignation from the Xirka or the Order,
except in the case of those persons who are members
in virtue of an office they hold or have held, or by the
return of the medal. The cessation shall take effect
from the date on which the resignation from the Xirka
or the Order is received by the Chancellor of the Xirka
or the Order, or the medal is returned to the Secretary
to the Cabinet;
(c) if such person has been guilty of such conduct as
makes him unworthy of continuing to be a member of
the Order or of the Xirka or the holder of a medal, and
the appointment is terminated or the award of the
medal is revoked by the President of Malta acting on a
resolution of the House of Representatives in
accordance with such procedures as may be prescribed
by rules made under this Act.
(2) Termination of membership in terms of paragraphs (b) and
(c) of subsection (1) of this section shall be notified in the Gazette.
Return of insignia, 
etc. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
24. (1) Where a person ceases, other than by death, to be a
member of the Xirka or the Order, or to be the holder of a medal, he
shall forthwith return to the Chancellor of the Xirka or the Order
the insignia of the Xirka or the Order that was awarded to him or
her; the medal shall be returned to the Secretary to the Cabinet.
(2) Upon promotion to a higher grade, a member of the Order
shall return to the Registrar the insignia of the grade to which he
belonged before promotion.
(3) The holder of a medal shall not be required to return the
medal on his admission to membership of the Xirka or the Order.
Seal of the Xirka 
and of the Order. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8.
25. (1) No appointment to the Xirka or to the Order and no
termination of any such appointment shall be valid unless sealed
with the Seal of the Xirka or the Order as the case may be.
(2) The Seals of the Xirka and of the Order shall be kept in the
custody of the President of Malta.
  8      CAP. 251. _h   _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA 
Power to make 
rules. 
Added by: 
XIV. 1990.8. 
Amended by: 
XV.1993.78.
26. The President of Malta may from time to time, on the
advice of the Prime Minister, make rules -
(a) prescribing anything which under the foregoing
provisions of this Act may be or is required to be
prescribed; 
(b) respecting the design, form and content of the insignia
and medals and the protocol of wearing such insignia
and medals;
(c) respecting the formalities of investiture and award;
(d) making any other ancillary provision which may be
required or deemed expedient in order to give better
effect to any of the provisions of this Act;
(e) prescribing the insignia of office that may be worn by
officers of a local government authority, members of
any Organ of the State, or by officers of the
Government of Malta whether in local or foreign
service or whether belonging to a disciplined force or
otherwise.
Unauthorised use 
of insignia of the 
Xirka, Order, etc. 
Added by: 
XIV.1990.8.
27. Any person who makes use of the insignia of the Xirka or
of the Order or of a medal established in or under this Act, without
being entitled thereto in accordance with the foregoing provisions
of this Act, or who places or causes to be placed after his name any
letters indicating or purporting to indicate membership of the Xirka
or of the Order or the holding of a medal under this Act, without
being entitled thereto in accordance with the foregoing provisions
of this Act, shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be
liable to a fine (multa) of not less than one hundred liri and not
exceeding five hundred liri.
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.4.
PART V
TITLES OF NOBILITY AND FOREIGN HONOURS AND 
DECORATIONS 
Titles of nobility 
not recognised.
28. (1) Titles of nobility are not recognised and any privilege
or other right ancillary to any such title shall cease to have effect.
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) of this section shall prejudicially
affect any proprietary right which may be competent to or may
devolve on any person as the person who, but for the provisions of
that subsection, would have been the holder of a title of nobility.
(3) Any condition in the deed or instrument of foundation, or in
any other document, requiring the use of a title of nobility or of any
name or other description for the enjoyment of any proprietary
right shall be without any effect whatsoever.
Recognised 
honours, 
decorations, etc. 
Amended by: 
XIV. 1990.9.
29. (1) No honour, award or decoration, other than a
university degree honoris causa, a prize, or an award for bravery,
and no membership of, or office in, any order, shall be recognized
unless it is conferred under this Act or any other law for the time
  _GIEH IR-REPUBBLIKA  _g CAP. 251.  9
being in force or it has been or is conferred by a foreign State or a
Sovereign Order having diplomatic relations with Malta and, in
respect of any honour, award, decoration, membership or office
conferred to any person in Malta or to any citizen of Malta by any
such State or Sovereign Order after the commencement of this Act,
unless it is conferred with the written authority of the President of
Malta given on the written advice of the Prime Minister.
(2) A request for an authorization under subsection (1) of this
section shall be made in accordance with such procedure as may be
prescribed by the rules made under this Act.
(3) Every authorization given under this section shall be
notified in the Gazette.
(4) It shall be the duty of every public officer or authority, and
of every body established or recognised by law and of every
member thereof, to refrain from recognising in any way, and from
doing anything which could imply recognition of, any title of
nobility or any honour, award, decoration, membership or office
which is not recognised in accordance with the foregoing
provisions of this section.
