The Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences, University of Malta, is organising a half-day national forum on October 31 for a frank discussion of alternatives to the bills proposing amendments to the Constitution, the Criminal Code and the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure recently tabled by the government.
The government has frozen parliamentary debate on these bills to permit time for consultation, after various NGOs, journalists, and academics decried the lack of a White Paper consultation process and criticised the inadequacy of the proposals.
The forum will be held at the Aula Magna, University of Malta, Valletta, and will consist of two parts: a panel from 2.30pm to 4pm where different points of view may be shared; and a drafting session from 4.30pm until 7pm dedicated to discuss concrete proposals for the wording of one or more alternative proposals to the ones published by the government.
The panel will be moderated by Prof. Gorg Mallia, Head of the Department of Media & Communications and the drafting session convenor is Prof. Joe Cannataci, Head of the Department of Information Policy and Governance.
Cannataci was the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Privacy between 2015 and 2021 and is the Council of Europe Lead Expert on the Data Protection Treaty Art 11 that deals with exemptions from privacy safeguards including those for purposes of national security, defence, law enforcement, economic matters and the general public interest.
The outcome of the forum will be communicated to the committee entrusted by the government to carry out consultations.
The forum is expected to examine various areas of Information Law including privacy, data protection, freedom of expression, the protection of media professionals such as journalists, access to information held by the state, and related issues.
It will also cover the right to free, unhindered, development of personality as well as the right to family life, both of which rights have a gender dimension as well as being of special interest to vulnerable minorities including those on the LGBTQI+ spectrum.
Participation is free but registration is required by sending an email to Caroline Chetcuti at caroline.chetcuti@um.edu.mt as places are limited.
Registrations close on October 26.
Anyone interested in being on the panel should send an email to gorg.mallia@um.edu.mt.
Anyone who would like to suggest alternative ideas to be discussed during the session should send them in writing by October 24 at jcannataci@sec.research.um.edu.mt.