Cap. 473 Art. 16Criminal proceedings.

(1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this Act or of regulations made thereunder shall be guilty of an offence, and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not exceeding twenty-three thousand and two hundred and ninety euro (23,290) or an amount equal to three times the amount of the eco-contribution payable on the products in respect of which the offence is committed, whichever shall be higher.

(2) Article 21 of the Criminal Code and the provisions of the

Probation Act shall not apply to any conviction under this Act.

(3) No criminal proceedings under this Act shall be taken except at the instance or with the sanction of the competent authority, and proceedings that have been so taken may, at any time before final judgment, be withdrawn at the request of the competent authority.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Criminal Code, the

Attorney General shall have a right of appeal to the Court of Criminal Appeal from any judgment given by the Court of Magistrates in respect of criminal proceedings under this Act. (5) Deleted by Act XIV.2020.6.

(6) In any criminal proceedings under this Act the competent authority or any other officer designated by the competent authority may, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law, produce the evidence, plead and otherwise conduct the prosecution instead of or jointly with the police.

(7) Should the evidence of the competent authority or of the officer designated by the competent authority as aforesaid be required as part of the case for the prosecution, he shall be heard before assuming the duties of a prosecuting officer unless the necessity of his giving evidence arises at a later stage:

Provided that the competent authority or other officer as aforesaid may state the facts constituting the offence before giving evidence.