Cap. 248 Art. 31Action to be instituted on complaint of injured party.

(1) Criminal proceedings for any offence under articles 11

and 21 may not be instituted except on the complaint of the injured party or of the persons mentioned in article 542 of the Criminal

Code.

(2) All provisions of the Criminal Code relating to proceedings on private complaint, including in particular the provisions of article 373 of that Code, shall, so far as applicable, apply to proceedings on private complaint under this article: Provided that the provisions of paragraph (d) of article 374 of the Criminal Code shall not apply in respect of criminal proceedings instituted in terms of the foregoing provisions of this article after the complainant has confirmed his complaint on oath before the court and the absence of the complainant from the court at any stage of the proceedings shall not be deemed to constitute the abandonment of the proceedings or the withdrawal of the complaint if the said absence is subsequent to the said confirmation of the complaint on oath by the complainant.

(a) publications made in pursuance of an Act of

Parliament or by authority of the President of Malta or of the House of Representatives;

(b) publications consisting of communications between public officers, or between such officers and contractors of the public service or officials of public corporations, reports of inquiries held in terms of any law, or statements by public officers that are made in good faith in the interests of national security, territorial integrity, public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime or for the protection of health or morals;

(c) publications of reports of debates of the bona fide House of Representatives, provided the relevant part of the debate is published, and the defence of any person against whom any charge is made is not suppressed or maliciously or negligently curtailed or altered;

(d) publications of reports of any proceedings in a court of justice in Malta, provided such reports are fair reports of the proceedings and the publication of such reports or proceedings is not prohibited by law or by the court: Provided that it shall not be lawful to publish -

(a) anything which, by article 994 of the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure, is forbidden to be used or produced, or

(b) any report of the proceedings in any case of defamation, in which evidence of the truth of the matters charged is not allowed by law.