                 NATIONAL ARCHIVES ġ CAP. 339.        1
CHAPTER 339
NATIONAL ARCHIVES ACT
To regulate the National Archives.
(lst June, 1990) *
Enacted by ACT IV of 1990.
Short title.
Duties of the 
Minister. 
2. It shall be the duty of the Minister responsible for
education to ensure that all documents of a public nature which are
no longer in use for the purpose of administration, shall be properly
preserved and reasonably accessible to the public for the purpose of
study.
National Archives.
Cap. 92.
3. The Minister responsible for education shall determine the
place or places which are to serve as National Archives where all
documents and objects mentioned in sections 4 and 5 of this Act
shall be preserved, and where the public shall have access thereto.
The Librarian appointed under the Public Libraries Ordinance shall
be  ex officio  Curator of the National Archives. The Minister
responsible for education may appoint an Advisory Committee to
advise him on the best methods of running the National Archives.
Documents to be 
deposited in the 
Archives.
4. (1) Documents of a public nature which are, in accordance
with section 2 of this Act, to be preserved in the National Archives
include:
( a ) the authentic text of all the Constitutions that at any
time were in force in these Islands;
( b ) all documents relative to the debates, minutes, papers
laid, declarations and reports of the Councils of
Government, the Legislative Assembly, the Senate, the
Executive Council, the House of Representatives,
Royal Commissions, Select Committees as well as the
National Assembly and all other bodies which in any
manner according to law were involved in the
government of these Islands;
( c ) the authentic text of laws, proclamations, ordinances,
or other legislative instruments;
( d ) the authentic text of treaties, conventions and any
other public agreement entered by the Government of
Malta with foreign Governments or with international
institutions or bodies;
( e ) administrative and departmental documents of the
Government of Malta, including all documents of
Ministries, Government Commissions, Authorities or
Boards after the lapse of thirty years from their being
* See  section 1 of the Act as originally enacted, part of which has been omitted under
the Statute Law Revision Act, 1980, and Legal Notice No. 74 of 1990.
  2      CAP. 339. ħ                NATIONAL ARCHIVES
put away;
( f ) the documents of the University, as well as of other
Public Corporations or Bodies;
( g ) all official publications of the Government, the
University, and of other Public Authorities,
Corporations or Bodies;
( h ) maps, designs, photographs, negatives or photographs
and plates thereof, cinematographic films, registration
of whatever type or material whether audio as well as
visual, as well as all types of documentation kept by
Government;
( i ) whatsoever is acquired from outside the
administration, being of the same nature as that listed
above.
(2) The documents referred to in subsection (1) of this section,
other than those listed in paragraphs ( a ),   ( c ),   ( d )   and   ( g ) thereof,
shall be kept in accordance with this Act, when the same are no
longer in use for the purpose of administration, and
notwithstanding any period of time mentioned in subsection (1) of
this section, a document shall not be kept in accordance with this
Act, if it is still in use for the purpose of administration as may be
certified by the authority in possession of that document.
Existing Archives. 5. Existing Archives which are regulated by a particular law,
shall continue to be kept and regulated in accordance with existing
legislations:
  Provided that the Minister responsible for education may
in concurrence with the Minister responsible for a particular
archive, order the transfer of documents kept in such archives to the
National Archives, when the same are no longer of use to the public
except for their study, and this under such conditions that may be
imposed by the Minister responsible for education in concurrence
with the Minister responsible for the archives wherein the
document was previously kept; and where any such document is
transferred to the National Archives, for the purpose of any law
regulating the deposit of that document in the existing archives,
such document shall be deemed to be properly deposited in
accordance with such law, and all responsibility relative to such
document, including the issue of copies and extracts therefrom, as
well as the authentication thereof, shall upon the transfer of such
documents vest in the Curator of the National Archives.
Documents may 
not be taken out  of 
the National  
Archives.
6. No document or object preserved in the National Archives
may without the written permission of the Minister responsible for
education be physically taken out from the premises appointed for
the purpose by the Minister. A copy of every permission granted by
the Minister shall be preserved in the National Archives, and
publicly shown and another copy shall be kept at the office of the
Minister:
  Provided that where a document is transferred to the
National Archives in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of
                 NATIONAL ARCHIVES ġ CAP. 339.        3
this Act, and in accordance with any law, such document is to be
exhibited in Court, or otherwise used in the original, the Curator of
the National Archives shall exhibit or otherwise use the original
after making a copy thereof for preservation in the archives.
Duties of the 
Curator.
7. The Curator of the National Archives shall preserve, and
where necessary restore, catalogue and index all the documents and
objects entrusted to him in the National Archives, as well as
establish the manner in which the public may directly study those
documents and objects, and take copies and reproductions thereof.
Limitation of 
access to 
documents.
8. The Minister responsible for education may limit access by
the public to documents and objects where in his discretion:
( a ) they contain information which has been obtained by a
public authority under an obligation of secrecy or
confidentiality; or
( b ) their content is obscene or pornographic; or
( c ) the security of the State or the personal safety of any
individual so require.
Authentic copies.
every copy of a document, issued as a true copy duly sealed with
the seal of the National Archives and signed by the Curator of the
National Archives, shall for the purposes of any law, be deemed an
authentic copy and for the purpose of evidence be deemed
equivalent to the original.
Power to make 
regulations.
10. The Minister responsible for education may from time to
time make regulations in general for the better putting into effect
the provisions of this Act, and may in particular by such regulations
prescribe:
( a ) the manner in which the public may have access to the
documents and objects in the National Archives;
( b ) the manner in which copies and other reproductions of
documents and objects in the National Archives may
be made; and
( c ) the fees that are to be paid for any service that may be
given in the National Archives.
