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 Tourism.
Freedom of
Information Act (Maltese Version)
Freedom of
Information Act (English Version)
Submitting a Request / Complaint
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 email
to foi.mft@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 submitting
an FOI Request, 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 may 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.
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
requests.
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 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, s/he may lodge an appeal with the Information and Data Protection
Commissioner (IDPC). If the applicant remains dissatisfied with the outcome of
the appeal s/he 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 affected within 20 working
days following notification.
Public Authorities under the Ministry
for Tourism:
· Ministry for Tourism (MFT)
· Malta Film Commission
· Institute of Tourism Studies
· Malta Tourism
Authority
· Mediterranean Conference Centre
· Tourism
Zones Foundation
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 Tourism,
233, Republic Street, Valletta, Tel: (+356) 22915900.
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