S.L. 499.56 Art. 87Submission of applications for authorisation.

(1) Applications to the Authority for authorisation of international regular services starting in Malta shall conform to the

Sixth Schedule.

(2) Authorisations shall be issued in agreement with the authorities of all the Member States in whose territories passengers board or disembark.

(3) A decision on the application for authorisation for regular services starting from Malta shall be taken by the Authority within four months from the date of submission of the application by the carrier.

(4) Authorisation shall be granted unless:

(a) the applicant is unable to provide the service which is the subject of the application with equipment directly available to him;

(b) in the past, the applicant had not complied with national or international legislation on road transport, and in particular the conditions and requirements relating to authorisations for international passenger transport services, or has committed serious breaches of legislation in regard to safety, in particular with regard to the rules applicable to vehicles and driving and rest periods for drivers;

(c) in the case of an application for renewal of authorisation, the conditions of authorisation have not been complied with;

(d) it is shown that the service in question would directly compromise the existence of regular services already authorised, except in cases in which the regular services in question are carried out by a single carrier or group of carriers only;

(e) it appears that the operation of services covered by the application is aimed only at the most lucrative of the services existing on the links concerned; and

(f) a Member State decides on the basis of a detailed analysis that the said service would seriously affect the viability of a comparable rail service on the direct sections concerned. Any decision pursuant to this provision, together with the reasons therefor, shall be notified to any carrier affected.

(5) Where the Authority refuses to grant or renew an authorisation for regular services starting from Malta, the Authority shall by notice in writing, within seven days, inform the applicant or holder, as the case may be, of its intention to do so. Every notice of refusal shall state that the operator has a right to make representations in writing, within ten days, to the Authority giving reasons why the application shall not be refused and the Authority shall consider any representations so made before arriving at a final decision. The Authority shall notify in writing its final decision to the applicant concerned. When an application is refused by the Authority, the applicant may appeal to the Tribunal within thirty days from notification of the Authority’s decision.