Several other general laws bear on the cultural field. The Competition Act (Cap. 379, 1994) and the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority framework apply to cultural undertakings engaged in economic activity, including festivals and ticketing operators. The Criminal Code (Cap. 9) contains provisions relevant to artistic expression — notably on obscenity, hate speech, incitement and threatening communications, all amended by the 2023 artistic-expression reform to require a “credible and realistic” threat for prosecution where the expression at issue is artistic, satirical or comic.
The Public Domain Act (Cap. 564, 2016), designating certain land and coastal areas as inalienable public domain with cultural-landscape implications, remains largely unimplemented as of 2025. The Development Planning Act (Cap. 552, 2016) and the Environment Protection Act (Cap. 549, 2016) govern heritage and landscape decisions, including assessments by the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage and the Environment and Resources Authority.
Legal Notice 177 of 2024 transposed the EU anti-SLAPP Directive (Directive (EU) 2024/1069), of particular relevance to journalists, commentators and satirists. The proposed Equality Act and Human Rights and Equality Commission Act remain under parliamentary discussion.
Comments are closed.