PART III - Actions Arising from Press Offences

23. Criminal proceedings for any offence under Part II and civil proceedings under Part III of this Act may be instituted against each of the following persons>

(a) the author, if he shall shall have composed the work for the purpose of its being published, or if he shall have consented thereto;

(b) the editor;

or, if the said persons cannot be identified,

(c) the publisher.

24. It shall be no defence for any of the persons mentioned in the last preceding section to prove that the writing is a copy, or an extract, or abridgement, or a translation of another writing which has been otherwise printed and published.

24A. The criminal and the civil actions mentioned in section 23 of this Act may also be instituted against any person who shall have made a public speech in circumstances where he was aware or could have reasonably been aware or have expected that the content of his speech was going to be published in a newspaper or a broadcasting medium and in fact is in whole or in part so published.

25. (1) The persons mentioned in section 23 of this Act shall be deemed to have acted knowingly, in default of evidence to the contrary.

(2) The editor and, where applicable, the publisher shall be deemed to have acted knowingly if, being aware of the contents of the newspaper, broadcast or other printed matter, as the case may be, at any time before its publication, they did not prevent such publication.

26. The persons mentioned in section 23 of this Act, who shall not have acted knowingly, shall be liable to the punishments for contraventions.

27. Criminal proceedings are independent of civil proceedings. Both proceedings may be instituted at the same time or separately.

28. (1) In the case of defamation, by any means mentioned in section 3 of this Act, the object of which is to take away or injure the reputation of any person, the competent civil court may, in addition to the damages which may be due under any law for the time being in force in respect of any actual loss, or injury, grant to the person libelled a sum not exceeding five thousand liri.

(2) In any case to which this section applies, the defendant may, in mitigation of damages, prove that he made or offered to make an apology to the plaintiff for such defamation before the commencement of the action for damages or, as soon afterwards as he had an opportunity of doing so in case the action shall have been commenced before there was an opportunity of making or offering such apology;

Provided that the defendant shall not be allowed to make such proof in mitigation of damages if he has raised the plea of justification in terms of section 12 of this Act.

29. Whosoever, by any means mentioned in section 3 of this Act, shall publish any statement which he knows or with due diligence could have known to be false and which is likely to damage any business concern or other property, shall be liable to pay, in addition to the damages which may be due under any law for the time being in force in respect of any actual loss or injury, a sum not exceeding five thousand liri to be fixed by the competent court.

30. It shall be lawful to take action in respect of each and every imputation in the same libel, and the persons concerned in the libel may be sued either jointly or severally>

Provided that the amount of damages or penalties recoverable in regard to the same libel shall not exceed five thousand liri.

31. (1) Criminal proceedings for any offence under sections 11 and 21 may not be instituted except on the complaint of the injured party or of the persons mentioned in section 542 of the Criminal Code.

(2) All provisions of the Criminal Code relating to proceedings on private complaint, including in particular the provisions of section 373 of that Code, shall, so far as applicable, apply to proceedings on private complaint under this section>

Provided that the provisions of paragraph (d) of section 374 of the Criminal Code shall not apply in respect of criminal proceedings instituted in terms of the foregoing provisions of this section after the complainant has confirmed his complaint on oath before the Court and the absence of the complainant from the court at any stage of the proceedings shall not be deemed to constitute the abandonment of the proceedings or the withdrawal of the complaint if the said absence is subsequent to the said confirmation of the complaint on oath by the complainant.

32. Criminal action for any offence under Part lI of this Act and the civil action under sections 28 and 29 shall be barred by prescription after the lapse of one year.

33. No action shall lie in respect of the following publications:

(a) publications made in pursuance of an Act of Parliament or by authority of the President of Malta or of the House of Representatives;

(b) publications consisting of communications between public officers, or between such officers and contractors of the public service or officials of public corporations, reports of inquiries held in terms of any law, or statements by public officers that are made in good faith in the interests of national security, territorial integrity, public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the protection of health or morals;

(c) publications of bona fide reports of debates of the House of Representatives, provided the relevant part of the debate is published, and the defence of any person against whom any charge is made is not suppressed or maliciously or negligently curtailed or altered;

(d) publications of reports of any proceedings in a court of justice in Malta, provided such reports are fair reports of the proceedings and the publication of such reports or proceedings is not prohibited by law or by the court;

Provided that it shall not be lawful to publish ­

(a) anything which, by section 994 of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure, is forbidden to be used or produced, or

(b) any report of the proceedings in any case of defamation, in which evidence of the truth of the matters charged is not allowed by law.