                      PROFESSIONAL  SECRECY   [ CAP. 377.        1
CHAPTER 377
 PROFESSIONAL SECRECY ACT
To establish general provisions protecting professional secrecy and to make consequential
amendments to other laws.
23rd September, 1994
ACT XXIV of 1994, as amended by Acts XVII of 1998 and XVII of 2002.
ARRANGEMENT OF ACT
Articles
PART I.   Preliminary 1-2
PART II.  The Duty of Professional Secrecy 3-5
PART III.  Exceptions  6-11
PART IV.   Supplemental Provisions 12-14
  2      CAP. 377. ]                            PROFESSIONAL  SECRECY  
PART I 
PRELIMINARY
Short title. 1. This Act may be cited as the Professional Secrecy Act. 
Interpretation. 2. (1) Any reference in this Act to the revealing of
information shall include references to the communication of such
information in writing, by transmission of documents or electronic
data, by signs, by negation or in any other way.
(2) References in this Act to officials or employees of the State
or to persons employed by the State include references to:
( a ) employees of the Government of Malta;
( b ) employees of any body corporate established by law;
( c ) any person, whether an individual or not, whether
having corporate personality or not, acting as
consultant or in any other similar contractual capacity
with the Government of Malta or with a body
corporate established by law; or
( d ) any person whether an individual or not, whether
having corporate personality or not exercising
functions as an official or representative of the
Government of Malta or of any body corporate
established by law.
(3) "Professional secret" or "secret" in this Act refers to
information which falls under any of the following categories:
( a ) information which is to be considered secret under a
specific provision of any law;
Cap. 9.
( b ) information which is described as secret by the person
communicating the information to a person falling
within the scope of article 257 of the Criminal Code;
( c ) information which has reasonably to be considered as
secret in view of -
(i) the circumstances in which the information has
been communicated and received, and
(ii) the nature of the information, and
(iii) the calling, profession or office of the person
receiving the information, and of the person
giving the information, where applicable.
                      PROFESSIONAL  SECRECY   [ CAP. 377.        3
PART II 
THE DUTY OF PROFESSIONAL SECRECY
Interpretation of 
article 257 of the 
Criminal Code.
Amended by:
XVII. 1998.70.
Cap. 9.
Cap. 31.
Cap. 370.
Cap. 345.
3. (1) The persons who, by reason of their calling, profession
or office, fall within the scope of article 257 of the Criminal Code
include the following: members of a profession regulated by the
Medical and Kindred Professions Ordinance, advocates, notaries,
legal procurators, accountants, auditors, employees and officers of
financial and credit institutions, trustees, officers of nominee
companies or licensed nominees, persons licensed to provide
investment services under the Investment Services Act,
stockbrokers licensed under the Financial Markets Act, insurers,
insurance agents, insurance managers, insurance brokers and
insurance sub-agents, officials and employees of the State.
Cap. 9.
(2) Subject to article 10, a person shall still remain subject to
the provisions of article 257 of the Criminal Code after he has
ceased to exercise the relevant calling or profession, or to occupy
the relevant office.
Cap. 9.
(3) References in statutory enactments to "the duty of
professional secrecy" or similar expressions shall henceforth be
interpreted, unless the context otherwise requires, as references to
the duty imposed by article 257 of the Criminal Code not to
disclose a secret covered by that article.
Depositary of 
secret.
Cap. 9.
4. (1) A person shall also be deemed to have become the
depositary of a secret by reason of his calling, profession or office
when he obtains such secret by reason of being an employee, or
employer, a partner or assistant, of a person who falls within the
scope of article 257 of the Criminal Code or by reason of having
acted as interpreter or translator in the communication of such
secret.
(2) A person shall also be deemed to have become the
depositary of a secret by virtue of his calling, profession or office
where he obtains such secret during the course of his employment
by the State.
(3) Where a person entrusts secret information to an employee
or employer of a person falling within the scope of article 257 of
the Criminal Code by reason of such employee’s relationship with
his employer, such secret information shall be deemed to have been
entrusted to the employer through the employee or to the employee
through the employer, as the case may be, as mandatory.
Investigators.
virtue of a power of investigation or enquiry conferred by law or by
virtue of any enactment which requires information to be
communicated shall be deemed to have become the depositary of
such information by virtue of his calling, profession or office.
  4      CAP. 377. ]                            PROFESSIONAL  SECRECY  
PART III
EXCEPTIONS
Authorisation to 
disclose.
Cap. 9.
 6. (1) It shall be a defence to a charge of disclosing secret
information contrary to article 257 of the Criminal Code to show
that the secret information was revealed by the person charged,
only when authorised to do so by the person who entrusted him
with the information.
(2) For the purposes of subarticle (1), a person who has
received secret information from another shall not be able to give a
valid authorisation for the disclosure of that information by a third
party.
Permitted 
disclosures.
Added by:
XVII. 2002.224.
Cap. 9.
6A. No offence shall be committed against section 257 of the
Criminal Code or this Act by -
( a ) a person disclosing in good faith secret information in
the course of and for the purpose of obtaining advice
or directions from the body regulating his profession;
( b ) a person disclosing in good faith secret information to
a public authority or before a court or tribunal to the
extent that is proportionate and reasonably required for
the specific purpose of:
(i) defending himself against any claim with regard
to professional work in connection with which
the secret information has been obtained by him;
or
(ii) initiating and maintaining judicial proceedings
seeking the recovery of fees or other sums due to
him or the enforcement of other lawful claims or
interests;
Cap. 9.
Cap. 12.
( c ) saving the provisions of article 642(1) of the Criminal
Code or article 588(1) of the Code of Organization and
Civil Procedure, a person, who in good faith discloses
secret information to a competent public authority in
Malta in the reasonable belief that such disclosure is
reasonably necessary for the purpose of preventing,
revealing, detecting or prosecuting the commission of
acts that amount or are likely to amount to a criminal
offence, or to prevent a miscarriage of justice.
Obligation to 
disclose.
Added by:
XVII. 2002.224.
Cap. 9.
Cap. 12.
6B. Saving the provisions of article 642(1) of the Criminal
Code and of article 588(1) of the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure, a person shall disclose information otherwise covered
by professional secrecy when required to do so:
( a ) by a competent law enforcement or regulatory
authority investigating a criminal offence or a breach
of duty;
( b ) by a magistrate in the cause and for the purposes of  in
genere  proceedings; and
( c ) by a court of criminal jurisdiction in the course of a
                      PROFESSIONAL  SECRECY   [ CAP. 377.        5
prosecution for a criminal offence.
Necessary 
communication to 
employees, etc.
Cap. 9.
7. (1) Unless the person who entrusted the secret information
stipulates to the contrary, he shall be deemed to have authorised the
communication of the secret information to employees, partners
and assistants of the person to whom the information was entrusted,
or to any other person falling within the scope of article 257 of the
Criminal Code, where such communication is necessary for the
performance of services requested by the person who entrusted the
information.
(2) Two or more persons falling within the scope of article 257
of the Criminal Code who exercise power of effective management
and control in a limited liability company set up for the purpose of
exercising their profession shall for the purpose of this article be
considered as partners.
Disclosure 
compelled by law.
Amended by:
XVII. 2002.225.
Cap. 9.
 8. For the purposes of article 257 of the Criminal Code, a
person shall not be deemed to be compelled by law to give
information to the public authority unless there is a statutory
requirement to that effect. 
Court orders for 
disclosure.
Amended by:
XVII. 2002.226.
Cap. 9.
Cap. 12.
 9. Saving the provisions of article 642(1) of the Criminal
Code and of article 588(1) of the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure, a court may authorise or make an order requiring the
disclosure of secret information pursuant to an express provision of
law for the specific purposes for which that provision was enacted,
or for the specific purpose of preventing, disclosing or detecting
the commission of acts that amount or are likely to amount to a
criminal offence:
Provided that in the absence of any specific provision in
relation to any particular calling, profession or office, nothing in
this article shall be construed as modifying the existing rules of law
in relation to the courts’ power to release a witness in court
belonging to any such calling, profession or office from the duty of
professional secrecy:
Provided further where the court authorises or requires such
disclosure such evidence shall be held  in camera  and shall only be
accessible to the court and to the parties:
Cap. 12. 
Provided further that nothing in this Act shall be construed
as affecting the provisions of the Code of Organization and Civil
Procedure in relation to garnishee orders.
Information in the 
public domain.
Cap. 9.
10. It shall be a defence to a charge of disclosing secret
information contrary to article 257 of the Criminal Code to show
that, at the time the information was revealed, the information had
entered the public domain and had done so legitimately. 
Intergovernmental 
communications. 
Cap. 9.
11. (1) It shall not be a breach of article 257 of the Criminal
Code for a person employed by the State to communicate secret
information to another person employed by the same entity or to
the Minister responsible for that entity, where such communication
is directly necessary for the carrying out of their respective
functions. 
  6      CAP. 377. ]                            PROFESSIONAL  SECRECY  
(2) For the purposes of this article, the following are separate
entities:
( a ) any body corporate established by law;
( b ) the Department of Inland Revenue;
( c ) all departments or divisions of the State, to the
exclusion of the entities in paragraphs ( a ) and ( b )
above.
PART IV
SUPPLEMENTAL PROVISIONS
Savings for 
privileged 
communications.
12. Nothing in this Act shall restrict or limit, or be deemed to
restrict or limit, the laws or custom on the protection of privileged
communications.
References in other 
enactments.
13. Any reference in an enactment, whether passed before or
after the date of entry into force of this Act, to an obligation to
observe secrecy or confidentiality, shall be interpreted as imposing
a duty at least as strong as the duty of professional secrecy, without
prejudice to any other requirements of such enactment.
Criminal 
proceedings.
Cap. 9. 
14. (1) No proceedings for an offence under article 257 of the
Criminal Code shall be commenced without the sanction of the
Attorney General.
(2) When the act committed by an offender constitutes a more
serious offence under any other law, the provisions of that other
law shall apply in respect of that act.
