Cap. 93 Art. 2Interpretation.

(1) In this Ordinance and the regulations made thereunder -

"correctional services officer" means any officer appointed to the public service before the 15th January, 1979 and who occupies any post listed in the Schedule to the Prisons Pensions Regulations;

"Minister" means the Minister from time to time responsible for the Department of Social Security, and includes any officer designated by the Minister for a particular purpose or class of purposes;

"month" means a calendar month;

"officer" means a person substantively appointed to an office in respect of which a pension or retiring allowance may be granted under this Ordinance.

In case of any question or dispute arising as to whether a person is to be regarded as an officer for the purpose of this Ordinance or of any regulations made thereunder the decision of the President of Malta shall be final; "pensionable emoluments" -

(a) in respect of service in Malta, includes -allowance, house allowance, the estimated annual rental value of free quarters, value of rations, extra remuneration, any fees paid out of the Treasury by way of salary or any other emoluments whatever;

(b) in respect of other public service, means emoluments which count for pension in accordance with the law or regulations in force in such service; Provided that, with respect to officers who retire or die in service between the 1st day of January, 1991 and the 1st day of January, 1993 and who occupied a post on retirement or death in service the scale of salary of which is, on or after their retirement or death in service, increased in accordance with the Public Service Reform of 1991, the salary of such officers on their last day of service before retirement or death, as the case may be, shall, for the purpose of this Ordinance, but with effect only from the date of such increase, be deemed to be the salary as increased in accordance with such reform, no account however being taken of any increases granted for any increase in the cost of living after the retirement or death in service of such officers; and any pension and, or, gratuity payable in accordance with this Ordinance in respect of such officers shall, with effect from the date of any such increase in accordance with such reform as aforesaid, be adjusted as if the salary on their last day of service was that which would have been payable according to such increase as aforesaid had they remained in the service: Provided further that, in the case of an officer who retires between the said dates and dies subsequent to retirement between the dates aforesaid, any gratuity or commuted pension shall be adjusted on the dates of such increase as aforesaid;

"pensionable office" means -

(a) in respect of service in Malta, an office which has been declared by the President of Malta, by a notification in the Government Gazette, to be a pensionable office; and any such office may at any time be declared by the President of Malta, by a notification in the Government Gazette, to be no longer pensionable; but where any office is thus declared to be no longer pensionable, then so long as any person holding that office at the time of the declaration continues therein, the office shall, as respect that person, continue to be a pensionable office;

(b) in respect of other public service, an office which is a pensionable office under the law or regulations in "personal allowance" means a special addition to salary granted personally to the holder for the time being of the office, but does not include such an addition if it is granted subject to the condition that it shall not be pensionable; "prisons officer" shall have the same meaning assigned to it by article 2 of the Prisons Act; "public service" means service of a civil capacity under the Government of Malta or such other service as the President of Malta may determine to be public service for the purposes of any provision of this Ordinance or of the regulations made thereunder;

"salary" means the salary attached to a pensionable office, or where provision is made for taking service in a non-pensionable office into account as pensionable service, the salary attached to that office; "service in Malta" means service in a civil capacity under the Government of Malta and, in respect of members of the teaching staff of the University of Malta whose rights under any of the provisions of this Ordinance are saved under the proviso of article 136(2) of the Education Act, and of officers or employees of the Government of Malta who at any time during their service in a civil capacity under the Government of Malta are detailed to perform duty at the University or with the Malta Government Tourist Board or with Enemalta or with the Malta Broadcasting Authority shall be deemed to include service in the University or with the Malta Government Tourist Board or with Enemalta or with the Malta Broadcasting Authority as the case may be;

"year" means a calendar year.

(2) Nothing in this Ordinance or in any amendment made thereto from time to time shall, unless the contrary intention is explicitly stated, be interpreted as granting, or as ever having granted, a right, to any person who has been in the service of Malta or to his legal representatives or dependants, to a pension, gratuity or other allowance under this Ordinance, that is not, or that was not at any time, qualified by the requirement of a creditable performance by such person