The Freedom of Information Act
Eligible persons are entitled to submit Freedom of
Information (FOI) requests to all established Public Authorities, including
those listed under the Ministry for the Environment, Energy
and Enterprise. The requests have to be in written format on prescribed
forms and have to be delivered to an office of the Public Authority, either
electronically - by email or through the FOI Portal -
or manually (by hand or by post).
Freedom of Information Act (Maltese Version)
Freedom of Information Act (English Version)
Submitting a
Request / Complain
Eligible
Persons:
In order to be eligible to submit FOI requests, a person has to
be a resident in Malta and to have been so for a period of at least five years.
Such person has to be also either a citizen of Malta or a citizen of any other
member state of the European Union or a citizen of any other state the citizens
of which have a right, in virtue of any treaty between such state and the
European Union, to be treated in Malta in the same manner as citizens of member
states of the European Union.
FOI requests or Complaint forms have to be submitted in writing,
and can be sent by e-mail to foi.meee@gov.mt or through the FOI portal www.foi.gov.mt via the e-ID or through the online form.
Information
to be Provided
When filling in the application form applicants will be
required, apart from providing contact details, to give an indication of the
document/information that they wish to obtain. They will also need to indicate
the format in which they wish to receive such document/information, namely as a
hard copy/print-out, as an electronic copy, in the form of a summary/excerpt of
contents or by on-site inspection of the document / information in
question. Copies of the ID card or passport and/or additional
documentation, as deemed necessary could be requested by the Public Authority,
in the case of requests relating specifically to the individual, individual's
assets/interests/right of access.
Types of
Requests
In essence, one may ask for any article that is held by a public
authority and on which information has been recorded in whatever form,
including electronic data, images, scale models and other visual
representations, and audio or video recordings, regardless of whether the
information can be read, seen, heard or retrieved with or without the aid of
any other article or device. One may also ask for documentation which contains
policies, principles, rules or guidelines in accordance with which decisions or
recommendations are made in respect of members of the public (including bodies
corporate and employees of the public authority in their personal capacity).
Furthermore eligible persons have the right to request information (in the form
of a written statement) on a decision or recommendation made in their respect
or in respect of a body corporate which they represent.
Acknowledgements
FOI requests will be duly acknowledged by the Public
Authorities. The acknowledgement forms will include a unique reference number
and an indication of the date by when the response will be given. The forms
shall also include specific information related to the Public Authority, such
as its address, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, opening hours and also
details of its internal complaints procedure.
Checks to be
carried out by the Public Authority
On receipt of the application form, the Public Authority will
verify whether the request qualifies as an FOI request and will inform the
applicant accordingly if this is not the case. If it transpires that additional
information/documentation is required, applicants will be contacted by the
Public Authority to whom the request has been submitted and they will be
provided with all possible assistance in order to ensure that such request
complies with the provisions of the Act. This notwithstanding, when submitting
an FOI request, applicants are not required to provide any justifications for
requesting any particular documentation / information.
The Public Authority will also verify whether the requested
document / information is held at its end. If this is not the case such Public
Authority will seek to identify the proper entity to whom the request should be
submitted and will transfer such application accordingly (informing the applicant
in the process). If no alternative entity is identified (meaning that the
document/information cannot be traced at any Public Authority) the applicant
will be informed accordingly.
Processing of
request
Once it establishes that a request is an FOI request and can be
addressed from its end, the Public Authority will determine whether it can
provide the applicant with the document / information requested (in full or in
part) or whether it will refuse the request. Prior to taking a decision in this
regard, the Public Authority shall consider whether any of the exemptions
listed in the FOI Act apply. The Public Authority will submit notification
of whether the request will be accepted or not within 20 working days from its
receipt. An additional 20 working days extension can be further applied,
bringing up the total to a maximum of 40 working days from the date of the
receipt of the original request.
Payment of
Fee
When submitting a response to the Applicant, the Public
Authority shall indicate whether any fees apply. If applicable, such fees shall
cover only the costs related to making a document available to the applicant,
namely man-hours of processing, costs of photocopies/faxes and digital media
and costs related to inspections. Notwithstanding the above, the total
applicable fee shall not exceed €40. No additional fees can be incurred for
submitting applications or complaints.
The
application of fees is regulated by L.N. 158 of 2010.
Remedial
Action
If the applicant is not satisfied with the response provided by
the Public Authority vis-à-vis its request, the applicant is entitled to submit
a complaint to the same Public Authority. If, subsequently, the applicant
remains unsatisfied with the response received, he/she may lodge an appeal with
the Information and Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC). If the applicant
remains dissatisfied with the outcome of the appeal he/she may appeal to the Information
and Data Protection Tribunal and, subsequently, to the Court of Appeal.
Complaints may be submitted for the following reasons:
- The Public
Authority has applied an extension to the 20-working day deadline
- The Public
Authority has imposed a fee which is deemed to be excessive
- The document is
not being provided in the requested format
- The request is
being refused (for e.g. request not deemed to be an FOI request)
- The Public
Authority does not respect the 20 working day deadline (or the deadline
indicated in the notification of extension, if applicable) for
submitting a response
Applicants may submit a
complaint through the IDPC’s website by clicking here.
Receiving documentation / information
Whenever a Public Authority communicates a decision to an
Applicant that access to a document / information will be granted, the
applicant shall also be invited to effect payment of fees (if applicable).
Within 10 working days following payment, the Public Authority will provide the
document / information in the same format as the applicant had originally
requested or, if this is not possible, in any other format deemed appropriate
by the Public Authority. Applicants who submit requests through the FOI Portal (www.foi.gov.mt) may be provided with the possibility of downloading the
document / information directly from the site.
If no fee will be charged, the document / information will be
provided within 10 working days following notification. The request shall be
considered to have been abandoned by the applicant if payment is not effected
within 20 working days following notification.
Public Authorities under the Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise:
Ministry for the Environment, Energy and
Enterprise
Ambjent Malta
Automated
RevenueServices Management Limited (ARMS Ltd)
Circular Economy Malta
Enemalta
plc
Enemed
Co. Ltd
Engineering Resources Ltd
Environment and Resources Authority
Energy and Water Agency
International
Engineering Services Ltd
Malta
Enterprise
Mediterranean
Offshore Bunkering Co Ltd
Melita TransGas Co Ltd
PARKS Malta
Petromal
Co Ltd.
Regulator for Energyand Water Services -
REWS
Wasteserv Malta Ltd
Water Services Corporation
Information provided
according to Article 17 of the Freedom of Information Act may be viewed by
accessing the above links or by contacting the Principal Freedom of
Information Officer, Ministry for the Environment, Energy and
Enterprise, MEEE Head Office, 6, Triq Hal Qormi, Santa
Venera SVR 1301, Tel: (+356) 23316200
General
Information on FOI