Cap. 535 Art. 2Interpretation.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"appropriate action" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by the Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act; "baselines" means the lines, joining appropriate points along the coast of Malta, from which the breadth of the territorial waters is measured;

"continental shelf" means the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond the territorial waters of Malta to a limit established in accordance with international law, measured from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial waters is measured; so however that where in relation to States of which the coast is opposite that of Malta it is necessary to determine the boundaries of the respective continental shelves, the boundary of the continental shelf shall be that determined by agreement between Malta and such other State or States or, in the absence of agreement, the median line, namely a line every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial waters of Malta and such other State or States is measured: Provided that until the agreement mentioned in the preceding paragraph comes into force, any licences issued under this Act or any regulations made thereunder for the exploration and exploitation of natural resources of the continental shelf of Malta shall only apply to the area lying on the Maltese side of the median line between the coast of Malta and coast belonging to the opposite State or States:

Provided further that nothing shall preclude the Government of Malta from entering into any cooperative arrangements, such as joint development agreements, revenue sharing agreements and international unitisation agreements, with neighbouring States for the purpose of exploring and exploiting the natural resources on the continental shelf: Provided further that the Government of Malta may extend the continental shelf boundary beyond the median line in accordance with international law;

"designated area" means any area, designated by the Prime Minister by means of an order published in the Gazette, within which the rights mentioned in article 3(1) are exercisable;

"Prime Minister" shall mean the Prime Minister or any other person designated by the Prime Minister, and this in addition to the provisions of article 5; "licence" has the same meaning as assigned to it in the Petroleum (Production) Act; "Malta" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124 of the Constitution of Malta; "maritime enforcement officer" has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 2 of the Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act;

"mineral resources" means any mineral, rock or sediment constituted of organic or inorganic compounds or substances extracted, mined or otherwise derived from the earth, including the seabed and the subsoil thereof, but shall not include water; "natural resources" means -

(a) the mineral, energy and other non-living resources of the sea bed and subsoil; as well as

(b) the living organisms belonging to sedentary species; "petroleum" has the same meaning as in the Petroleum

(Production) Act; "safety zone" means an area around any artificial island, installation or structure, designated for the purpose of ensuring their safety as well as safety of navigation around them; "sedentary species" means organisms which at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or subsoil; "territorial waters" has the same meaning assigned to it by article 3 of the Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act.