Following the Paqpali għall-Istrina incident, the government commissioned a review of legislation governing health and safety during public events. Mark Gauci, Occupational Health and Safety Authority chief executive officer, was entrusted with this task which consisted, among other things, of evaluating the legal provisions and procedures addressing public health and safety.
The report was carried out without prejudice to any ongoing investigations. In essence, it provides a true and sad reality – legislation and procedures concerning public health and safety are frought with problems and ambiguities. There are various legal anomalies backed with provisions which are outdated, unclear and no longer of relevance.
One such concern is the Cinema and Stage Regulation S.L. 17 of 1937, which provides in regulation 27 that when combustible material is necessarily placed above a lantern, an asbestos sheet is to be provided at a height of not less than one metre above the lantern.
Law plays an important and fundamental role in society – it serves as a norm of conduct for people. The right of protection of the law is a fundamental right embedded in the Constitution. On the other hand, laws must be based on practicability – people need to be well-safeguarded - but we must not create a society which ends up bubbled with provisions that make it impossible for one to enjoy life. The current provisions concerning public health and safety fail to do that in every manner.
Unlike in the case of occupational health and safety, the laws of Malta do not provide a specific piece of legislation dealing solely with public health and safety. Rather, public health and safety is addressed in various pieces of legislations which can be traced all way back to the Code of Police Laws.
In truth, health and safety protection arises out of the statutory responsibility of the police to ensure good order and public morality. A legal framework developed over time through the enactment of different sets of regulations issued under the Code of Police Laws, Chapter 10 of the Laws of Malta. For instance, article 204 of the code provides that the Commissioner of Police may order the suspension of any public performance, show or entertainment, the suspension of licence and the closure of premises where the interests of public safety merits so.
The protection of the health and safety of the public has also been affected even if in an indirect way, through the enactment of the Trade Licenses Act, Chapter 441 of the Laws of Malta, whereby police trading activities have been literally scattered amongst various authorities.
The Act regulates commercial activities through the provision of licence and permits. Certain activities, though not requiring a licence, may indeed require a permit from the local authority and, or the Commissioner of Police.
The laws of Malta do not provide a specific piece of legislation dealing solely with public health and safety
The licence and the permit may be subject to a number of conditions such as the approval and clearances from other entities and the submission and evaluation of various documents. Such conditions will definitely have an impact on public health and safety.
For instance, the application for one time events – parties, falling under the remit of the Commissioner of Police, commonly referred to as a ‘one off event’, lays down a number of conditions which must be satisfied by the applicant in the case of any disco, ball, dance or any other similar activity, irrespective of the name by which it is called.
One of the various conditions which merit attention concerns the submission of a health and safety certificate. While on one hand one must applaude the positive intention behind the necessity of requesting such certificate, on the other hand, there are various questions and doubts in relation to the contents ofthe certificate.
The report by Gauci lays down a number of recommendations emanating from the fundamental principle that the protection of health and safety must be given priority over all other factors.
The recommendations include among others: the need of having a specific legislative framework addressing the health and safety of public in a systematic manner with provisions based on the level of risk; the need to establish a single, independent, regulatory body responsible for the governance of public health and safety which will be further assited by an advisory group; the need to establish a procedure whereby application for public events and similar activities are submitted to a single authority through a procedure based on the one stop shop concept; the need to have a Fire Safety Act addressing important aspects such as fire and other emergency risk assessment, fire precautions and the establishment of the competency criteria of fire risk assessors; and the need to review, update and repeal outdated legislation.
To this end, a period of public consultation has been launched to collect input from the public, trade unions, business organisations and other interested parties to seek their views on the above-mentioned report and any other proposals. Everyone is encouraged to participate and contribute towards this process. Interested parties are to submit their comments either through online process or in writing by not later than February 13, 2016, by accessing the Public Consultations Online platform on www.konsultazzjoni.gov.mt.
Melhino Mercieca is senior manager (international affairs) at the Occupational Health and Safety Authority.