Malta

Hate Crimes

The following overview of hate crimes legislation is based on information submitted directly to the ODIHR by Malta during the course of 2004-2005. While, in some instances, the wording of the legislation may appear unclear, it has not been changed from its original form.

On the basis of this structure, ODIHR enourages pS to submit relevant information to fill in any gaps.

Legislation is constantly updated, and therefore the provisions cited are subject to change. The term racist is illustrative and does not exclude other bias types. The use of "Article", "Section", or § refers to parts of the respective Criminal Code.

International crimes [1]	Statute of the ICC has been enacted under the subheading: Genocide, Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes. Press Act 1974, Article 6 states that whosoever by means of the publication or distribution in Malta of printed matter, or by means of any broadcast shall threaten, insult, or expose to hatred, persecution or contempt, a person or group of persons because of their race, creed, colour, nationality, sex, disability or national or ethnic origin shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months and to a fine.
Incitement to hatred / Dissemination of racist ideas [2]	§82A(1): whosoever uses any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour, or displays any written or printed material which is threatening, abusive or insulting, or otherwise conducts himself in such a manner, with intent thereby to stir up racial hatred or whereby racial hatred is likely, having regard to all the circumstances, to be stirred up shall, on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a term from six to eighteen months. Racial hatred is defined in (2) as hatred against a group of persons in Malta defined by reference to colour, race, nationality (including citizenship) or ethnic or national origins.
Holocaust denial [3]
Personal violence
Destruction of property
Civil rights violations
Racist organizations [4]
Racist cyber-crime
Aggravating circumstances
Bias types[5]	Race [1], creed, colour, nationality, sex, disability, national or ethnic origin.

[1] Defined by reference to colour, race, nationality, ethnic, national origins.

[1] Relevant international crimes include genocide, apartheid, slavery and persecution.

[2] Includes (public) incitement to racial discrimination, violence or hatred; (public) dissemination of ideas based on racial superiority or hatred; (public) insults and threats.

[3] Includes public denial or gross trivialization of international crimes, especially genocide/the Holocaust.

[4] Includes creation, support, participation.

[5] Includes bias types referred to in definitions of crimes and as aggravating factors, but excludes crimes based on denying equality of citizens, which tend to encompass broader grounds for discrimination.

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