Cap. 350 ст. 19Code for advertising and sponsorship.

(1) Advertisements shall only be allowed to be inserted in the programmes broadcast by licensees and contractors of the

Authority as long as the provisions of this Act are complied with in relation thereto. Other persons providing broadcasting services in

Malta shall be allowed to include advertisements and sponsorships only if the Minister, after consultation with the Minister for Wireless Telegraphy, has given directions to the Authority to that effect by notice in writing, stipulating in such notice which sub-articles if any, or parts thereof, of this article shall have effect for such other persons.

(2) (a) It shall be the duty of the Authority subject to sub-article (1), to secure that the provisions of the Advertising and Sponsorship Code in the Third Schedule to this Act are complied with.

(b) The Authority may, in conjunction with the Minister, from time to time amend, or substitute the Third Schedule to this Act.

(3) The Authority may, in the discharge of its general responsibility for advertisements and methods of advertising, impose requirements as to advertisements and methods of advertising which go beyond the requirements imposed by the code under this article.

(4) The methods of control exercisable by the Authority for the purpose of securing that the provisions of the code under this article are complied with, and for the purpose of securing compliance with requirements imposed under sub-article (3) which go beyond the requirements of the code, shall include a power to give directions to any person providing broadcasting services in Malta with respect to the classes and descriptions of advertisements and methods of advertising to be excluded, or to be excluded in particular circumstances, or with respect to the exclusion of a particular advertisement, or its exclusion in particular circumstances.

(5) The Authority may give directions to any person providing broadcasting services in Malta with respect to the time when advertisements are to be allowed.

(6) Subject to sub-articles (7), (8) and (9), nothing shall be included in any programmes broadcast by the Authority or by any other person providing broadcasting services in Malta, whether in an advertisement or not, which states, suggests or implies (or could reasonably be taken to state, suggest or imply) that any part of any programme broadcast by the Authority or any other person providing broadcasting services in Malta, as the case may be, which is not an advertisement has been supplied or suggested by any advertiser; and, except as an advertisement, nothing shall be included in any programme broadcast by the Authority or by any other person providing broadcasting services in Malta, which could reasonably be supposed to have been included in the programme in return for payment or other valuable consideration to the relevant person providing broadcasting services in Malta.

(7) (Deleted by Act IV. 2010.6.).

(8) Nothing in sub-article (6) shall be construed as prohibiting the inclusion of any of the following matters in any part of a programme broadcast by the Authority or by any person providing broadcasting services in Malta, which is not an advertisement, namely -

(a) items designed to give publicity to the needs or objects of any association or organisation conducted for charitable or benevolent purposes;

(b) reviews of literary, artistic or other publications or productions, including current entertainments;

(c) items consisting of factual portrayals of doings, happenings, places or things, being items which in the opinion of the Authority are proper for inclusion by reason of their intrinsic interest or instructiveness and do not constitute an undue element of advertisement;

(d) announcements of the place of any performance included in the programme, or of the name and description of the persons concerned as performers or otherwise in any such performance, announcements of the number and description of any record so included, and acknowledgments of any permission granted in respect of any such performance, persons or record; and

(e) such other matters, if any, as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Authority in conjunction with the Minister.

(9) Nothing in sub-article (6) shall be construed as prohibiting the inclusion of an advertisement in any programme broadcast by the Authority or by any person providing broadcasting services in Malta, by reason only of the fact that it is related in subject-matter to any part of that programme which is not an advertisement.

(10) In so far as sub-article (6) prohibits the inclusion in programmes (other than advertisements) broadcast by the Authority or by any person providing broadcasting services in Malta, of anything which could reasonably be supposed to have been included therein in return for payment or other valuable consideration to the Authority or the relevant person providing broadcasting services in Malta, that sub-article shall not apply to any programme so broadcast as part of an educational broadcasting service approved by the Authority.

(11) Directions under this article may be, to any degree, either general or specific and qualified or unqualified and directions under sub-article (4) may, in particular, relate to -

(a) the greatest amount of time to be given to advertisements in any hour or other period,

(b) the minimum interval which must elapse between any two periods given over to advertisements and the number of such periods to be allowed in any programme or item in a programme or in any hour or day,

(c) the exclusion of advertisements from a specified broadcast, and may make different provision for different parts of the day, different days of the week, different types of programmes or for other differing circumstances: Provided that no such direction shall be given which is shown not to be reasonably justifiable in a democratic society. In giving such directions the Authority shall also be guided by such international instruments relating thereto, and to which Malta is a party.

(12) Orders for the insertion of advertisements may be received through advertising or other agents or direct from the advertiser, but the Authority, broadcasting operators, licensees and contractors shall not act as advertising agents.