Cap. 641 ст. 2Interpretation.    Cap. 499.    Cap. 499.      Cap. 499.      Cap. 101.           S.L. 499.22.

(1) Unless otherwise expressed by any other provision of this Act, or unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall apply to air navigation in Malta:

"aerobatic flight" means manoeuvres intentionally performed by an aircraft involving abrupt change in its altitude, an abnormal altitude, or an abnormal variation in speed, not necessary for normal flight or for instruction for licences or ratings other than aerobatic rating; and the term "aerobatics" shall be interpreted accordingly;

"aerodrome" means a defined area, including any buildings, installations and equipment, on land or water or on a fixed, fixed off-shore or floating structure intended to be used either wholly or in part for the arrival, departure and surface movement of aircraft;

"aerodrome control service" means air traffic control service for aerodrome traffic;

"aerodrome operating minima" in relation to the operation of an aircraft at an aerodrome means the cloud ceiling and runway visual range for take-off, and the decision height or minimum descent height, runway visual range and visual reference for landing, which are the minimum for the operation of that aircraft at that aerodrome and which are either specified by the operator or ascertainable by reference to the operations manual of that aircraft;

"aerodrome traffic" means all traffic on the manoeuvring area of an aerodrome and all aircraft flying in the vicinity of an aerodrome. An aircraft operating in the vicinity of an aerodrome includes but is not limited to, aircrafts entering or leaving an aerodrome traffic circuit;

"aerodrome traffic circuit" means the specified path to be flown by aircraft operating in the vicinity of an aerodrome;

"aerodrome traffic zone" means an airspace of defined dimensions established around an aerodrome for the protection of aerodrome traffic;

"aeronautical ground light" means any light established for the purpose of aiding air navigation, other than a light displayed on an aircraft;

"aeronautical radio station" means a radio station on the surface, which transmits or receives signals for the purpose of assisting aircraft;

"aeroplane" means a power-driven heavier-than-air aircraft, deriving its lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic reactions on surfaces which remain fixed under given conditions of flight;

"Agency" means the European Union Aviation Safety Agency;

"aircraft" means any machine that can derive support in the atmosphere from the reactions of the air other than the reactions of the air against the earth’s surface and includes unmanned aircraft;

"aircraft operator" or "operator of an aircraft" means any legal or natural person operating or proposing to operate one or more aircraft in accordance with the definition of "operator" in sub-article (3);

"air operator certificate (AOC)" means a certificate delivered to an undertaking confirming that the operator has the professional ability and organisation to ensure the safety of operations specified in the certificate, as provided in the relevant provisions of European Union or national law, as applicable;

"air service" means a flight or a series of flights carrying passengers, cargo and, or mail for remuneration and, or hire;

"air traffic control clearance" means authorisation for an aircraft to proceed under conditions specified by an air traffic control unit;

"air traffic control service" means a service provided for the purpose of:

(a) preventing collisions:

(i) between aircraft; and

(ii) on the manoeuvring area, between aircraft and obstructions;

(b) expediting and maintaining an orderly flow of air traffic;

"air traffic control unit" means the area control centre, the approach control unit or the aerodrome control tower;

"air transport undertaking" means an undertaking whose business includes the carriage by air of passengers or cargo for payment or reward;

"alternate aerodrome" means an aerodrome to which an aircraft may proceed when it becomes either impossible or inadvisable to proceed to or to land at the aerodrome of intended landing, where the necessary services and facilities are available, where the aircraft performance requirements can be met and which is operational at the expected time of use;

"altitude" means the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from mean sea level (MSL);

"approach to landing" means that portion of the flight of the aircraft, when approaching land, in which it descends below a height of one thousand feet (1,000ft) above the relevant specified decision height or the relevant minimum descent height;

"apron" means a defined area intended to accommodate aircraft for purposes of loading or unloading passengers, mail or cargo, fuelling, parking or maintenance;

"Aviation Appeals Board" means the Board established in terms of article 89;

"Basic Regulation" means Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018 on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/ 2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91, as amended from time to time;

"cargo" includes mail and animals;

"certification" means any certificate, approval, licence, authorisation, attestation or other document issued as the result of a certification attesting compliance with the applicable requirements;

"Chicago Convention" means the Convention on International Civil Aviation signed at Chicago on the 7 December 1944;

"cloud ceiling" means the height above the ground or water of the base of the lowest layer of cloud below six thousand metres (6,000m) or twenty thousand feet (20,000ft) covering more than half the sky;

"commander" in relation to an aircraft means the member of the flight crew designated as commander of that aircraft by the operator thereof, or in default of such a person, the person who is for the time being the pilot in command of the aircraft;

"commercial air transport aircraft" means an aircraft flying, or intended by the operator to fly, for the purpose of commercial air transport;

"commercial air transport operation" means an aircraft operation for the purpose of transporting passengers, cargo or mail for remuneration or other valuable consideration and which is required to be conducted under Part-CAT and Part-ORO and the term "commercial air transport" shall be construed accordingly;

"commercial operation" means the operation of an aircraft other than for public transport:

(a) which is available to the public or;

(b) which, when not made available to the public, is performed under a contract between an operator and a customer, where the latter has no control over the operator, but which in either case is made for remuneration or valuable consideration;

"commercial operation aircraft" means an aircraft other than a commercial air transport aircraft or public transport aircraft which flies or is intended by the operator to be flown, for the purposes of a commercial operation;

"common information service" means a service consisting in the collection and dissemination of static and dynamic data to enable the provision of U-space services for the management of traffic of unmanned aircraft;

"competent authority" means, in relation to Malta, the

Civil Aviation Directorate of the Authority for Transport in

Malta established in terms of the Authority for Transport in

Malta Act, and in relation to any other country, the authority responsible under the law of that country for promoting and regulating the safety of civil aviation;

"congested area" in relation to a city, town or inhabited area, means any area which is substantially used for residential, industrial, commercial or recreational purposes;

"Contracting State" means any state, including Malta, which is a party to the Chicago Convention;

"co-pilot" in relation to an aircraft means a pilot who, in performing his duties is subject to the direction of another pilot in the same aircraft;

"crew" means every person employed or engaged in an aircraft in flight on the business of the aircraft, including cabin crew and any person carried on the flight deck whose role is to supervise the training, experience, practice and periodical tests required for the flight crew members;

"decision height" in relation to the operation of an aircraft at an aerodrome means the height in a precision approach at which a missed approach shall be initiated if the required visual reference to continue that approach has not been established;

"Directorate" means the Civil Aviation Directorate within the Authority for Transport in Malta as established by the Authority for Transport in Malta Act;

"Director General" means the Director General for Civil

Aviation responsible for the Civil Aviation Directorate of the

Authority for Transport in Malta as established in terms of the

Authority for Transport in Malta Act and, to the extent of the authority given to him, any person authorised by the Director General to act on his behalf;

"EEA Agreement" means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on the 2nd May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on the 17th March 1993;

"EEA State" means a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;

"EASA aircraft" means an aircraft that is subject to the provisions of the Basic Regulation, together with the Implementing Regulations made thereunder;

"EASA Aircrew Regulation" means the Commission Regulation (EU) No 1178/2011 of 3 November 2011 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to civil aviation aircrew pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council;

"EASA Part-21 Permit to Fly" means a permit to fly issued in accordance with Annex I of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 748/2012 of 3 August 2012 laying down implementing rules for the airworthiness and environmental certification of aircraft and related products, parts and appliances, as well as for the certification of design and production organisations;

"flight" and "to fly" shall have the same meaning respectively assigned to them by sub-article (2);

"flight crew member" means a licensed crew member charged with duties essential to the operation of an aircraft during a flight duty period and includes the pilot, co-pilot, flight navigator, flight engineer and flight radiotelephony operator of the aircraft. The phrases "member of the flight crew" and "members of the flight crew" shall be construed accordingly;

"flight level" means a surface of constant atmospheric pressure which is related to a specific pressure datum of 1013,2 hectopascals (hPa) and is separated from other such surfaces by specific pressure intervals;

"flight plan" means specified information provided to air traffic services units, relative to an intended flight or portion of a flight of an aircraft;

"flight recording system" means a system comprising either a flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder or both;

"flight simulator" means apparatus by means of which flight conditions in an aircraft are simulated on the ground, including flight training devices, flight and navigation procedures trainers, and basic instrument training devices;

"flying machine" means an aeroplane, a powered lift tilt rotor aircraft, a helicopter, a self-launching motor glider, or a gyroplane;

"height" means the vertical distance of a level, a point or an object considered as a point, measured from a specified datum;

"helicopter" means a heavier-than-air aircraft supported in flight chiefly by the reactions of the air on one or more power-driven rotors on substantially vertical axes;

"IFR flight" means a flight conducted in accordance with IFR rules;

"instructor’s rating" means a flight instructor certificate, a flight instructor (restricted) certificate, a flight instructor rating (aeroplane), a flight instructor rating (helicopter), a type rating instructor rating (multi-pilot aeroplane), a type rating instructor rating (helicopter), a class rating instructor rating (single pilot aeroplane, an instrument rating instructor rating (aeroplane) or an instrument rating instructor rating (helicopter) or any instructor certificate issued in accordance with Part-FCL;

"instrument flight rules" or "IFR Rules" means Instrument Flight Rules contained in the Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA), Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 923/2012 of 26 September 2012 laying down the common rules of the air and operational provisions regarding services and procedures in air navigation and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1035/2011 and Regulations (EC) No. 1265/2007, (EC) No. 1794/2006, (EC) No. 730/2006, (EC) No. 1033/2006 and (EU) No. 255/2010;

"just culture" means a culture in which front-line operators or other persons are not punished for actions, omissions or decisions taken by them that are commensurate to their experience and training, but in which gross negligence, wilful and destructive acts are not tolerated;

"Just Culture Monitoring Group" means a group established in accordance with article 76(2);

"level" means a generic term relating to the vertical position of an aircraft in flight and meaning variously, height, altitude or flight level;

"licence" includes any certificate of competency or certificate of validity or revalidation issued with the licence or required to be held in connection with the licence in accordance to the law of the country in which the licence is granted, including Malta;

"licence for public use" shall have the meaning as assigned to it in article 75(4);

"licensed aerodrome" means an aerodrome licensed in accordance with this Act;

"life-jacket" includes any device designed to support a person individually in or on the water;

"logbook" in the case of an aircraft logbook, engine logbook or variable pitch propeller logbook, or personal flying logbook includes any record kept either in a book or by other means approved by the Director General in a particular case;

"maintenance" means in relation to an aircraft any one or a combination of: overhaul, repair, inspection, replacement, modification or defect rectification of an aircraft or component, with the exception of pre-flight inspection;

"maximum take-off mass" in relation to an aircraft means the maximum total mass of the aircraft and its contents at which the aircraft may take off anywhere in the world, in the most favourable circumstances and in accordance with the certificate of airworthiness in force in respect of the aircraft;

"mean sea level (MSL)" means the average height of the sea’s surface over all stages of the tide over a period of time;

"military aircraft" includes the naval, military or air force aircraft of any country and any aircraft in respect of which there is in force a certificate issued by the Minister that the aircraft is to be treated, for the purpose of this Act, as a military aircraft; "minimum descent height" in relation to the operation of an aircraft at an aerodrome means the height in a non-precision approach below which descent may not be made without the required visual reference;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for civil aviation and, to the extent of the authority given any person authorised by the Minister to exercise the functions on his behalf in accordance to this Act;

"model aircraft" means an unmanned aircraft, other than a toy aircraft, having an operating mass not exceeding limits prescribed by the Directorate, that is capable of sustained flight in the atmosphere and that is used exclusively for display or recreational activities;

"navigation services" includes information, directions and other facilities furnished, issued or provided in connection with the navigation and movement of aircraft and includes the control of movement of vehicles in any part of an aerodrome used for the movement of an aircraft;

"night" means the hours between the end of evening civil twilight and the beginning of morning civil twilight. Civil twilight ends in the evening when the centre of the sun’s disc is six degrees (6°) below the horizon and begins in the morning when the centre of the sun’s disc is six degrees (6°) below the horizon;

"Non-EASA aircraft" means an aircraft that is subject to national regulation for matters such as air operations, airworthiness and aircrew licensing and training and which falls outside the scope of the Basic Regulation in accordance with Article 2(3) of the said Regulation (Annex II aircraft as it was previously). The aircraft referred to in Article 6(4) of the said Regulation shall also be treated as non-EASA aircraft, and any notion in this Act followed by the term "non-EASA" shall be construed in the same way;

"non-precision approach" means an instrument approach using non-visual aids for guidance in azimuth or elevation but which is not a precision approach;

"notified" means published in any of the following publications issued in Malta whether before or after the coming into force of this Act, namely, "NOTAMS (notice to airmen)", "Information Circulars", or such other official publication issued by the Directorate for the purpose of enabling any of the provisions of this Act to be complied with;

"occurrence" means any safety related event which endangers or which, if not corrected or addressed, could endanger an aircraft, its occupants or any other person and includes in particular an accident or serious incident;

"operator" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in sub-article (3);

"organisation" means any organisation providing aviation products and, or which employs, contracts or uses the services of persons required to report occurrences under Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on the reporting, analysis and follow-up of occurrences in civil aviation, amending Regulation (EU) No 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Directive 2003/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 1321/2007 and (EC) No 1330/2007;

"parascending parachute" means a parachute which is towed by cable in such a manner as to cause it to ascend;

"Part-66" means Annex III to Commission Regulation

(EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks;

"Part-145" means Annex II to Commission Regulation

(EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks;

"Part-CAMO" means Annex Vc to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks;

"Part-CAO" means Annex Vd to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks;

"Part-CAT" means Annex IV to Commission Regulation

(EU) No. 965/2012 of 5 October 2012 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council; "Part-M" means Annex I to Commission Regulation

(EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks;

"Part-ML" means Annex Vb to Commission Regulation

(EU) No. 1321/2014 of 26 November 2014 on the continuing airworthiness of aircraft and aeronautical products, parts and appliances, and on the approval of organisations and personnel involved in these tasks;

"Part-ORO" means Annex III to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 965/2012 of 5 October 2012 laying down technical requirements and administrative procedures related to air operations pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

"passenger" means a person other than a member of the crew of an aircraft;

"pilot in command" means the pilot designated by the operator, or in the case of general aviation, the owner, as being in command and charged with the safe conduct of a flight;

"precision approach" means an instrument approach using precision lateral and vertical guidance with minima as determined by the category of operation;

"pressurised aircraft" means an aircraft provided with means of maintaining in any compartment a pressure greater than that of the surrounding atmosphere;

"private aircraft" means an aircraft which is not a commercial operation aircraft, public transport aircraft or a commercial air transport aircraft;

"psychoactive substance" means alcohol, opioids, cannabinoids, sedatives and hypnotics, cocaine, other psychostimulants, hallucinogens, volatile solvents and substances or drugs referred to in the Dangerous Drugs

Ordinance, whereas caffeine and tobacco are excluded;

"public transport" means an aircraft flying under the following conditions:

(a) where the flight is not a commercial air transport operation and payment or reward is given or promised for the carriage of passengers or cargo on that flight; or

(b) where the flight is not a commercial air transport operation and any passengers or cargo are carried gratuitously in the aircraft on that flight by an air transport undertaking, except persons in the employment of the undertaking, including in the case of a body corporate its directors, persons authorised by the Director General to make an inspection or witness any training practice or test for any of the purposes of this Act, and cargo intended to be used by any such passengers as aforesaid or by the undertaking:

Provided that an aircraft in flight shall not be deemed to fly for the purpose of public transport if the direct costs of the flight are shared proportionately between the persons on board the aircraft and:

(i) no more than four (4) persons, including the pilot, are carried on such flight,

(ii) no person acting as a pilot on such a flight shall be employed as a pilot by or be a party to a contract for the provision of services as a pilot with the operator of the aircraft being flown on the flight, and

(iii) no information concerning the flight shall have been published or advertised prior to the commencement of the flight;

For this purpose, "direct costs" means, in respect of a flight, the costs actually and necessarily incurred in connection with that flight without a view to profit but excluding any remuneration payable to the pilot for his services as such:

Provided further that where under a transaction effected by or on behalf of a member of an association of persons on the one hand and the association of persons or any member thereof on the other hand, a person is carried in, or is given the right to fly, an aircraft in such circumstances that payment or reward would be given or promised if the transaction were effected otherwise than aforesaid, payment or reward shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been given or promised, notwithstanding any rule of law that applies to such transactions;

"public transport aircraft" means an aircraft flying or intended by the operator of the aircraft to fly, for the purpose of public transport;

"qualified entity" means an accredited legal or natural person which may be charged with certain certification or oversight tasks under this Act by and under the control and responsibility of the Directorate;

"radiotelephony" means a form of radiocommunication primarily intended for the exchange information in the form of speech;

"record" includes in addition to a record in writing:

(a) any disc, tape, sound-track or other device in which sounds or signals are embodied so as to be capable, with or without the aid of some other instruments, of being reproduced therefrom;

(b) any film tape or other device in which visual images are embodied so as to be capable, as aforesaid, of being reproduced therefrom; and

(c) any photograph, and any reference to a copy of a record includes, in the case of a record falling within paragraph (a) only of this definition, a transcript of the sounds or signals embodied therein; in the case of a record falling within paragraph (b) only of this definition, a still reproduction of the images embodied therein; and in the case of a record falling within both these paragraphs above, such a transcript together with such a still reproduction;

"regulatory instrument" means such instruments issued in terms of article 5 which shall include any order, directive, protocol, guideline, explanatory memorandum, information circular, including notices to airmen, or other publication issued by the Director General to the general public or to any one operator or class of operators;

"replacement" in relation to any part of an aircraft or its equipment includes the removal and replacement of that part whether or not by the same part, and whether or not any work is done on it, but does not include the removal and replacement of a part which is designed to be removable solely for the purpose of enabling another part to be inspected, repaired, removed or replaced for cargo to be loaded;

"restricted area" means an airspace of defined dimensions, above the land areas or territorial waters of Malta, within which the flight of aircraft is restricted in accordance with conditions specified by the Directorate;

"runway" means a defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft;

"runway visual range" means the range over which the pilot of an aircraft on the centre line of a runway can see the runway surface markings or the lights delineating the runway or identifying its centre line;

"safety investigation authority" means the permanent national civil aviation safety investigation authority conducting or supervising safety investigations as referred to in Article 4 of

Regulation (EU) No. 996/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 on the investigation and prevention of accidents and incidents in civil aviation and repealing Directive 94/56/EC, this being the Bureau of Air

Aircraft Investigation established by the Civil Aviation (Investigation of Air Accidents and Incidents) Regulations;

"sailplane" means a heavier-than-air aircraft which is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its fixed lifting surfaces, the free flight of which does not depend on an engine, including also hang gliders, paragliders and other comparable aircraft;

"service provider" is to be interpreted broadly but for the purposes of Part IX means any legal or natural person providing functions or services of air traffic management and, or air navigation services and other air traffic management network functions either individually or bundled for general air traffic;

"specialised operation aircraft" means an aircraft operation in which an aircraft is used for specialised services including agriculture, construction, photography, surveying, observation, patrol, search and rescue, and aerial advertisement;

"State aircraft" means aircraft used for the purposes of the military, customs or police, search and rescue, fire-fighting and coastguard services;

"to land" in relation to aircraft includes alighting on water;

"toy aircraft" means an unmanned aircraft designed or intended for use, being a toy within the meaning of Directive 2009/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 on the safety of toys;

"UAS geographical zone" means a portion of airspace established by the Directorate that facilitates, restricts or excludes UAS operations in order to address risks pertaining to safety, privacy, protection of personal data, security or the environment, arising from UAS operations;

"unmanned aircraft" means any aircraft operating or designed to operate autonomously or to be piloted remotely without a pilot on board;

"unmanned aircraft system (UAS)" means an unmanned aircraft and the equipment to control it remotely;

"unmanned free balloon" means a non-power-driven, unmanned, lighter-than-air aircraft in free flight;

"U-space airspace" means a UAS geographical zone designated by Member States, where UAS operations are only allowed to take place with the support of U-space services;

"U-space service" means a service relying on digital services and automation of functions designed to support safe, secure and efficient access to U-space airspace for a large numbers of UAS;

"VFR flight" means a flight conducted in accordance with the visual flight rules;

"Visual Flight Rules (VFR)" means visual flight rules conducted in accordance with the Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA), Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 923/ 2012 of 26 September 2012 laying down the common rules of the air and operational provisions regarding services and procedures in air navigation and amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 1035/2011 and Regulation (EC) No. 1265/ 2007, (EC) No. 1794/2006, (EC) 730/2006, (EC) No. 1033/ 2006 and (EU) No. 255/2010;

"visual meteorological conditions (VMC)" means meteorological conditions expressed in terms of visibility, distance from cloud, and ceiling, equal to or better than specified minima;

(2) Any definition contained in this Act or adopted in any regulatory instrument shall be interpreted in line with European and international standard definitions as amended from time to time;

(3) Any definition of a notion within the aeronautical sector which is not contained in this Act shall, if a question as to its interpretation arises, be regulated by the same standard definitions as mentioned above;

(4) For the purposes of this Act, an aircraft shall be deemed to be in flight:

(a) in the case of a piloted flying machine, from the moment when after the embarkation of its crew for the purpose of taking off, it first moves under its own power, until the moment when it next comes to rest after landing;

(b) in the case of a pilotless flying machine, or a glider, from the moment when it first moves for the purpose of taking off until the moment when it comes to rest after landing;

(c) in the case of an airship or free balloon, from the moment when it first becomes detached from the surface until the moment when it next becomes attached thereto or comes to rest thereon;

and the expressions "flight" and "to fly" shall be construed accordingly.

(5) References in this Act to the operator of an aircraft are, for the purposes of the application of any provision of this Act in relation to any particular aircraft, references to the person who at the relevant time has the management or control of the operations of that aircraft.

(6) In this Act, any reference to European Union Regulations, such as the Basic Regulation, shall include a reference to the Implementing Rules made thereunder and as interpreted in light of the Certification Specifications, Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material issued by the Agency.

(7) For the purpose of this Act, any reference:

(a) to European Union Regulations or its legislative acts shall include a reference to those Regulations as amended, varied or substituted from time to time;

(b) to Malta’s international obligations shall mean obligations assumed by Malta under international law and European Union legislation.

(8) Any licences, certificates or permits issued in terms of this Act may be issued in an electronic format which the Director General may determine by regulatory instrument.

(9) In case of conflict between the Maltese text and English text of this Act, the English text shall prevail.

(10) Any rules or regulations made pursuant to any provision of this Act shall be made in the Maltese language and in the English language; however where in exceptional cases the use of the Maltese language would be difficult due to technical terminology, such rules or regulations may be made in the English language only.