                          INQUIRIES [ CAP. 273.        1
CHAPTER 273 
INQUIRIES ACT
To regulate certain inquiries and to make other provisions in respect
thereof.
(3rd June, 1977) *
 Enacted by Act XIX of 1977, as amended by Acts: XIII of 1983 and V of
1989.
Short title.
Interpretation. 
Amended by: 
V. 1989.2.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -
"Board" includes any commission, committee or other body of
persons and includes also a single person functioning as a Board or
similar authority;
"inquiry" includes any investigation or other examination of the
facts or circumstances of a case;
"public officer" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by
section 124 of the Constitution of Malta;
"statutory body" means any corporation or other body corporate
established by law or any partnership or other body in which the
Government or such body as aforesaid has a controlling interest, or
over which it has effective control.
Application of the 
provisions of this 
Act.
3. This Act shall apply to any Board appointed or authorised
by or under any law, including this Act, to carry out any inquiry or
inquiries into any of the following matters:
( a ) the conduct of public officers, or of officers or
servants of a statutory body, or of anyone or more of
such public officers or officers or servants;
( b ) the conduct or management of any department of
Government or of any statutory body;
( c ) any matter falling within the functions or
responsibility of any such department or body, or
otherwise concerning or affecting a service of the
Government,
and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the
aforesaid, this Act shall apply to any Board or other authority,
exercising powers of discipline with respect to public officers in
accordance with section 110 and section 121 of the Constitution of
Malta and any regulations made thereunder.
Appointment of 
Boards under this 
Act. 
Amended by:
V. 1989.3.
4. (1) A Board may be appointed under this Act either by the
Prime Minister for any of the purposes mentioned in section 3 of
this Act, or by a Minister for any of the purposes mentioned in
paragraphs ( b ) and ( c )   of the said section 3 in so far as the matter of
the inquiry concerns or affects a department or statutory body or
* See  Government Notice No. 293 of 3rd June, 1977.
  2      CAP. 273. ]                INQUIRIES
service for which he is responsible or in respect of which he has
powers under any enactment.
(2) Where a Board consists of three persons or more, this shall
be composed of a chairman together with such number of other
members in an even number as the person appointing the Board
may deem fit; and where the total number of the members
composing the Board is more than three, one of the members of the
Board other than the chairman shall be appointed by the person
appointing the Board as deputy chairman and shall preside at the
meetings of the Board in the absence of the chairman.
(3) The quorum of the Board shall consist of the chairman, or
in the absence of the chairman the deputy chairman, together with
such other members being not less than half the number of the
members other than the chairman, composing the Board.
(4) Subject to the provisions of this Act, any Board appointed
under this Act shall carry out such functions and other duties, and
in such manner and within such time, as may be specified in the
instrument appointing it.
Oath of office. 
Amended by: 
V.1989.4.
5. (1) Every person appointed to be, or to serve as chairman
or deputy chairman as the case may be, or member of any Board to
which this Act applies shall, before entering upon those duties, take
and subscribe an oath in the form set out in the Schedule to this Act
or in such other form as may be appropriate to the case.
(2) Such oath may be taken before any commissioner for oaths
and shall be deposited with the Attorney General.
Summoning of 
witnesses and 
administration of 
oaths. 
Amended by: 
XIII. 1983.5; 
V. 1989.5.
6. (1) Every Board to which this Act applies shall have
power, exercisable through its chairman or deputy chairman as the
case may be, or by the person constituting the Board - 
( a ) to summon witnesses;
( b ) to administer an oath to any witness and to any person
concerned in the inquiry, and require them to give
evidence and to produce documents in their possession
or under their custody in such circumstances as they
could be required to give evidence or produce
documents before a court of law.
(2) Summonses for attendance of witnesses may be in the form
set out in the Schedule to this Act or in such other form as may be
appropriate to the case, and shall be signed by the chairman or
secretary of the Board or, as the case may require, by the person
constituting the Board.
(3) A summons may be served either by hand or by post. Where
it is served by hand it shall be sufficient to prove service by
evidence that the summons was left with a person over the age of
sixteen years at the place of residence or of business of the person
summoned; and if served by post it shall be sufficient to prove
service by evidence that the summons was properly addressed and
posted.
(4) Any person summoned as aforesaid who refuses, or without
                          INQUIRIES [ CAP. 273.        3
sufficient cause fails, to attend at the time and place mentioned in
the summons, or refuses, without sufficient cause, to answer or to
answer fully and satisfactorily, to the best of his knowledge and
belief all questions put to him by or with the concurrence of the
Board, or refuses or fails, without sufficient cause, to produce any
document he was required to produce by or with the concurrence of
the Board, shall be liable on conviction to a fine ( multa ) not
exceeding five hundred liri or to imprisonment not exceeding three
months, or to both fine and imprisonment:
Provided that, without prejudice to the generality of the
provisions of paragraph ( b ) of subsection (1) of this section, no
person giving evidence before a Board may be compelled to
incriminate himself, and every such person shall, in respect of any
evidence given by him before a Board, be entitled to the same
privileges to which a witness giving evidence before a court of law
is entitled.
(5) No proceedings shall be commenced in respect of any
offence against this section without the concurrence of the Attorney
General.
Savings. 
Cap. 249.
7. Notwithstanding the repeal of the Committees of Inquiry
Act, 1948 * , and without prejudice to the provisions of section 12 of
the Interpretation Act, any power exercised and any oath taken
under the aforesaid Act of 1948, shall continue to have effect as if
it had been a power exercised under, or a power given by, this Act,
as the case may require, or an oath taken under and for the purposes
of this Act.
*Repealed by subsection (1) of section 7 of this Act as originally enacted, which
subsection has been omitted under the Statute Law Revision Act, 1980.
  4      CAP. 273. ]                INQUIRIES
Amended by: 
V.1989.6.
SCHEDULE  
[SECTIONS 5 AND 6]
A. Form of oath to be taken by chairman, deputy chairman or 
member of Board
I ............................................................... having been
appointed to be Chairman/Deputy Chairman/Member of
........................................... do swear/solemnly affirm that I will
faithfully, fully, impartially and to the best of my ability discharge
the trust and perform the duties devolving upon me by virtue of the
said appointment.
So help me God.
B. Summons to Witnesses
(The Inquiries Act)
To A.B. (name of person summoned and residence)
You are hereby summoned to appear before................................
.............................................. at ............. (place) on ...............
(date and time) and to give evidence respecting ..............................
. ....................................... (the matter of the inquiry).
Given under my hand this ........... day of ............ 19... 
................................................
(Signature of Chairman, Deputy Chairman
or other member)
