PART VII - Miscellaneous

48. Every decision of the Court of Magistrates of Judicial Police in respect of an offence under this Act may, in all cases, be appealed against by the Attorney General or by the complainant, as the case may be, and by the party convicted.

49. Where any offence under this Act is committed by a body of persons, every person who, at the time of the commission of the offence, was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of such body of persons or was purporting to act in such capacity shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable on conviction to the punishment for that offence unless he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge and that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of the offence.

50. It shall be lawful for the Prime Minister to make, and when made, to amend or repeal, regulations for carrying out the provisions of this Act and in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, to prescribe anything that is to be or may be prescribed under this Act.

51. (1) Every newspaper published in Malta shall publish the name of its publisher and the date on which it was printed.

(2) It shall be lawful for the Registrar to demand and obtain information from any person concerning the ownership of a newspaper published in Malta or of a company or other association of persons that is or at any time was, directly or indirectly, the owner of such a newspaper or with regard to the transfer of shares or control of any such company.

(3) Information demanded by the Registrar in terms of subsection (2) of this section shall be given within ten days of communication of the demand to the person from whom the information is required, and shall be included by the Registrar in the register of newspapers.

(4) Whosoever shall contravene the provisions of this section shall on conviction be liable to a fine (multa).

52. In any proceedings before a Court, or before a Tribunal or Board established by law, a certificate issued and signed by the Registrar showing who is or at any time was, the editor or the publisher of a newspaper or a broadcasting service shall constitute proof of its content unless the contrary is proved.

53. The provisions of the Press Act as in force prior to the coming into force of the Press (Amendment) Act, 1996 shall continue to apply in respect of any civil or criminal action, right of action, right or obligation relating to or arising out of any publication made prior to the coming into force of that Act;

Provided that the provisions of the proviso to subsection (2) of section 31, of section 46 and of section 52 as introduced by the Press (Amendment) Act, 1996 shall come into force with immediate effect.