Compliance & Enforcement
Part I
Historical Background
research based on Profs. Kevin Aquilina “Development Planning Legislation – The
Maltese Experience” (Mireva Publications, 1999)
Part II
Enforcement Directorate
Part III
Procedure
Part IV
Actions
Part I
Historical Background
During the British Colonial era various laws were enacted to regulate the
planning aspect in Malta
Post WWII up to the late 1960s various reports were commissioned
highlighting the need of a regulating Authority and the consolidation of
development legislation
An impasse in terms of legislation was reached in the 1970s and 1980s,
which was a period of development boom in Malta, whereby the planning
control system in place was not proportionate to the scale of development
An overview of some of the legislation that is of direct relevance to
development planning law will be given in the following slides
Historical Background - Regulating Legislation
The Code of Police Laws
• Enacted in 1854 and until 1992 was the main legislative body that
regulated town planning. Some of the provisions of this code in
terms of planning were repealed by enactment of the he 1992 Act.
• Regulated extensions of buildings, details in design, inhabited areas
and streets; houses and other tenements
• Appointed a Town Planning Commission which was responsible for
the preparation of planning schemes and relative procedure.
Historical Background - Regulating Legislation
The Antiquities (Protection) Act, 1925
• Enacted in 1925 and is still in force
• Prohibits the demolition or alteration of buildings that have
historical value unless prior authorisation is sought; regulates
excavations for the discovery of antiquities which require
prior authorisation from government.
• Provides for the scheduling of antiquities which include trees
Historical Background - Regulating Legislation
The Aesthetics (Building) Ordinance
• Established the Aesthetics Board; repealed in 1992
The Fertile Soil Ordinance, 1935
• Repealed and substituted by the Fertile Soil (Preservation)
Act, but the ordinance stipulated that no building shall be
constructed without removing the fertile soil beforehand
The Town and Country Planning Act, 1969
• Never came into force as the enacting legislation was never
issued
• Contained all the planning legislation in one enactment
• Drawn up by Sir Desmond Heap – an expert in town and
country planning law
Historical Background - Regulating Legislation
The Environment Protection Act, 1991
• One single enactment that consolidated all previous environment
legislation that has been enacted.
• Regulated toxic substances, noise control, discharges at sea, disposal and
dumping at sea and on land, protection of flora and fauna, cultural
heritage and environment impact assessment.
• Repealed and substituted with the Environment Protection Act, 2001
which reflected the changes and transposition of Community legislation in
light of EU accession
Historical Background - Regulating Legislation
The Development Planning Act, 1992
• Modeled on Sir Desmond Heap’s Town and Country Planning Act, 1969
• Established the Planning Authority and other bodies, including:
• The Development Control Commission
• Inter-departmental Planning Committee
• The Planning Consultative Committee
• The Planning Appeals Board
• The functions of the Planning Authority were the promotion of proper land
development and the control of such development in accordance with approved plans
and policies.
• Following an amendment in the Development Planning Act, territorial jurisdiction was
extended to the sea
Historical Background - Regulating Legislation
The Environment and Development Planning Act, 2010
(Chapter 504 of the Laws of Malta)
• Merged the Environment Protection Act, 2001 and Development
Planning Act, 1992 into one single Act
• Article 6 establishes the Malta Environment and Planning
Authority, although this was in function since 2002.
• Empowers MEPA to regulate the environment and development
matters on land and in territorial waters
Part II The Enforcement Directorate
Enforcement Directorate -
Structure
• The Enforcement Directorate is one of four Directorates
within MEPA; the others being the
▫ Planning Directorate
▫ Environment Protection Directorate
▫ Corporate Services Directorate
• Part VI of CAP 504 establishes the powers of MEPA, the right of
entry and enforcement of control
• Two Units within the Enforcement Directorate: Within Scheme Unit
and ODZ & Environment Unit
Enforcement Directorate -
Responsibilities
• To ascertain compliance with the permits and regulation that derive from CAP. 504
including:
• Building permits – ranging from DNs to Major Projects
• Nature Permits e.g. Removal of trees/pruning
• IPPC Permits e.g. Power Stations, Pharmaceutical Companies, large-scale farms
• CITES – Trading and importation of endangered species
• This is carried out with the assistance of the Planning Directorate and Environment
Protection Directorate, whereby certain compliance measures is carried out by inhouse experts who will provide feedback to the Enforcement Directorate where
enforcement action is required to be taken
• The Enforcement Directorate has specialised officers in a number of sectors to
ascertain holistic compliance and immediate preventive measures in certain situations,
however the Directorate’s response depends also on the cooperation of other entities
such as the Health Inspectorate, MRA, OHSA, MTA, Veterinary Services and CPD in
cases that range from Quarries and mineral extraction to farms to Oil storage facilities.
Enforcement Directorate -
Responsibilities
• The duties of the Directorate include:
• Investigation of complaints
• Monitoring of approved development permits
• Monitoring of refused development permits
• Issue Stop & Enforcement Notices in cases of non-compliance
• Appear before the Appeals Tribunal in cases of Appeals
• Give evidence before the Courts in cases of Criminal Action against a
contravener or in cases of Appeal
• Assess Methods Statements in cases where these are required to
remediate a site
• Represent the Directorate before the MEPA Board
• Issue Compliance Certificates
• Provides feedback to the EPCs, feedback to case officers, recommends
release or forfeiture of Bank Guarantees and assists EPD on inspections
Enforcement Directorate –
Legislative Tools
• Enforcement powers are given in article 83 of CAP. 504 which empowers
officers to enter any premises and board any vessel
• Article 85 empowers officers to issue Stop Notices and Stop and
Enforcement Notices
• Stop and Enforcement Notices have a fifteen-day period of Appeal (before
the Appeals Review Tribunal), whereby Notices that are subject to
Schedule VI have immediate effect (art. 86 (8) (a))
• Legal Notice 276 of 2012 introduced a daily penalty to infringements that
occurred after 24 November 2012
Enforcement Directorate – Daily
Penalties Regulation
• Categorises development into three sections:
• Category A – all development not indicated in Cat. B & C - €2/day, max. €4/day
• Category B – includes development of >50m2, creation of new units in areas within
scheme; ranges from €4/day up to €25/day
• Category C – includes all development in Category B but located in ODZ , SACs and
scheduled property; ranges from €10/day to €50/day.
Fines have a ceiling threshold of €50,000 as stipulated by CAP. 504
• For these fines to be applicable, the date of contravention needs to be established. If
there is no degree of certainty that the contravention occurred after 24 November
2012, then the daily penalties are not applied. Furthermore, daily penalties are not
applicable to contraventions that are not mentioned in this legislation.
• In cases where a Stop and Enforcement Notice is breached, and the breach is proven to
have occurred after 24 November 2012, then daily penalties will apply, including in
Notices that comprise Change of Use
Part III
Procedure
Procedure – From Complaint to Action
• Reports filed with Customer Care unit are given a unique reference code
(CMXXX/15), which reports are filtered according to section (ODZ or
Scheme), and handed to respective officers.
• After office hours an Emergency Line is activated, whereby a complaint
goes directly to an officer who will be on duty until 2300Hrs and
investigations are carried out immediately
• As per procedure, a contravenor is normally given a fifteen-day period to
comply with the Enforcement Officer’s instructions, following that time
period a Stop and Enforcement Notice will be issued.
• In cases that pose immediate risk to environment or cultural heritage, this
time-period is not given
Procedure – From Complaint to Action
• Prior to the issuance of a notice, an enforcement officer has intensive
groundwork to carry out, which includes:
• Determination of ownership
• Determination of Legal Person in case of companies
• Consultation with Agricultural Department, Paying Agency, Vet
Services, Government Property Division, MTA, Health Inspectorate
and Customs Department prior to the issuance of a notice
• Research at the National Archives is carried out for sectors that used
to be regulated by Police Licences such as Quarries and certain other
industries
• The research is imperative to be undertaken before the issuance of
notices as this determines the validity of the action by MEPA
Procedure – From Complaint to Action
• Once all the investigations are concluded, then an Enforcement file is
opened, which also bear a unique reference code (ECXXXX/15)
• These contain all the investigative documents that led to the action as
well as the Enforcement Notice and Site Plan that indicates the location of
the infringement
• Upon delivery of the Notice, an appeal can be filed before the Appeals
Review Tribunal within fifteen days
• In case of Notices that are subject to daily penalties, a fifteen-day period
is given to the contravenor before the fines start accruing
Procedure – From Complaint to Action
• If a contravenor fails to submit an application to sanction the illegalities
(where sanctionable) or remediate the site as instructed through the
Enforcement Notice, then the file will be referred for Executability
• Direct Action is subject to the Authority’s prerogative
• All expenses are incurred by the contravenor
• An Enforcement File remains active until all bills are settled or Court
action is concluded.
Part IV Actions
EC732/05
EC244/13
EC983/00
EC192/12
EC237/13
Compliance without issuing ECFs
EC277/13
Thank You
Complaints Office:
2290 0000
Emergency Number:
9926 9926