Criminal lawyers are unsure whether it is illegal for hotels to offer pay-per-view pornography TV channels in private rooms, an issue raised by Labour MP Adrian Vassallo who is staunchly against pornography.
According to the Maltese Criminal Code, possession of pornography is only illegal if it involves minors but the law is not so clear when it comes to its distribution, selling and displaying.
Article 208 (1) of the Criminal Code says that someone who "for gain, or for distribution, or for display in a public place or in a place accessible to the public, manufactures, prints or otherwise makes, or introduces into Malta, or acquires, keeps, puts in circulation or exports, any pornographic or obscene (material)" may face a prison term of up to six months.
While some lawyers interpret the first part of the sentence to mean that it is illegal for a hotel to sell such a service to its clients, other members of the legal profession argue that the phrase "public place or in a place accessible to the public" only makes it illegal to sell, distribute or display porn in public.
That would mean that the law would be broken if pornographic material is sold in shops or open markets or aired in a public place, like a cinema or a bar, but not in private settings, like a hotel room.
The difference in interpretation stems from a subtle disparity in how the law is read.
According to criminal lawyer Veronique Dalli, hotels offering pornography channels were technically committing an offence but she warned that the law should be applied without hysteria and with great caution.
"If we take action against hotels, will we also take action against internet providers," she asked, pointing out that the Criminal Code did not even define pornography in the first place.
Another criminal lawyer, Joe Giglio, argued that the act had to be committed in public for it to be illegal. "It is not illegal to watch adult pornography in the privacy of your own home and, similarly, it is not illegal to watch it in the privacy of your own hotel room. Therefore, I see nothing illegal in hotels offering access to pornography channels via pay-per-view service," he said.
Lawyer Emmanuel Mallia agreed with Dr Giglio but added another variable, arguing that it was debateable whether hotels are classified as public or private places.
Dr Mallia said that when one rented a hotel room that became a private place but there could be a technical issue on how pornography reached the rooms and whether this was coming from a central location that was accessible to the public.
A police investigation has been launched into claims made by Dr Vassallo in a parliamentary question but no more information has yet been forthcoming about what the police will be looking into exactly.
Questions to the Ministry of Justice have not yet been answered but government sources agreed with Dr Dalli's interpretation of the law, arguing it was legal to view pornography but not to sell it, whether in a public place or not.
Sources also said that a committee set up by the Justice Ministry recently to define pornography and obscenities could recommend changes in the law.