GE[NERAL GUIERAT A/51+01/Add.Rr a S S E H/I B LY , A{.Ril 1961 ORIGIITAL: E{GLISH
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UN'TED f{AT'ONS Distr , GE[NERAL GUIERAT A/51+01/Add.rr A S S E h/I B LY , a{.ril 1961 ORIGIITAL: E{GLISH Eiahteenth EesElon INFOFMATTON 5'ROM NON-SEII'-GO1EM$ffG TERRTTORTES PO],ITICAL AND CONSTTIUTTONAL INFOFMATjLON ON AT'BICAN AND A}JACH{T 1ERRITORTES T'I{DER UNIID I{INGDOI'T ADI4INISTFATION Note by the Secretary-GeneraL MAL?A In accordance wlth the etatement of t'h.e Secretary of State for tr'oreign Affairs of the United Kingdon of Great Sritaln and Northern lreland. on 2J Septemlrer L96L, the Goverrunent of the United Kingdon has trEnsnltted to the Secretary-General- the folloving polittcaL and constltaltional inforration on the Teritory of Malta " ,rhi A .r r'1r^r.mA+..t ^h t''hlch vas recelved on 25 yfF,rclt L96t , i6 herel'rith subn:itted to the General ABse@b]y at lts elghteenth sesElon.=' lI fn accorda.nce wlth General- As senbly vesolution 1?OO (Xm) of 19 Decenber 196! t this information ls also subrcitted to the Conrhl ttee on Infornatlon from Non-Self -Goveming Territories . 6s-ot\t\ A/5]+ollAdd.11 . MA],[A PO?UIATION l. f?re population of Malta is homogeneous and et the cen6us taken ln 1957 va6 calcuLated al ,]9-620 persons. An estimate tnade in December 1962 puts the populatton at approxi.:nately J2Br5O0 persons, the large naJority of whom are indigenous to the lsland. Wlth azr &verage de:le1ty of nearly 2r70O per6onF to the squave nlle, and a gubstantlal net lncrease, Malta is one of the most densely polulated Terrltories ln the lrorld. RECTNT EISTOtr 2. tr1e Constitutlon of 191+? gave l,Ialta fu1I lnterna]. sel-f-govemment lrlth a popularly elected leglslatlve Asser0bl,y, 3. fn Jr:ne and July 1955, talks were held 1n London wlth xepresentatives of both parties represented 1n the Mal-tese leglslature. (t" Malta labour Perby then held 2J seats, aod the Natlonalist Party 1? seats. ) lfie Nationalist Party favoured eventual ful-l autonoqf for l{a].ta, vhil-e the Iobour Party denanded elther self-detevmination a:rd the negotlatlon of a twenty-year treaty of frlendshlp, regulatlng relations vith the Unlted Kingdom, or a tlrenty-year plan to turn l4al-ta lnto an iategral part of the United Klngdon r,rlth repreBentatlvee at Westninister and safeguards for the Boman Catholic o:urch ln l4alta. Soth parties demanded very substantial financial assistEnce , if. The outcome of the constitutional talk6 }IaB the eonvenlng of a Rowd Table Conference, repreoenting al-l pol-ltlcal partles at Westnlnster, to conslder constltutlonal questions arising out of the tr4altese Prlme Minlsterrs protr)oEals for integra,tion, !h.e Conference I e report concluded that the unusuai cl-rcurrcterces entitled the people of llalta to a special road to polltl cal- equal-lty, 'vrhtch shou.l-d be by representatlon Ln the Unlted K1ngdonc Parl-ia,neat if they Eo w16hed. 5. The pro?o sed. lntegratlon vas put before the l,laltese people In a referendum in Febmery p!6, vhen about ?5 per cent of tho ee who voted r,u'ere in favour. Negotlatlons vith the Srltish Government fo].lowed to vork out practlcal- means of lmp].ementlng the proposalE, but then :.an lnto difficultles ard final-ly broke dovn 1n March 1958, the Briti6b Goverrrment regarding the Maltese denends ln A/5401/Add.11 E:glish Page J certern respects, especially econonlc, as excessive, and the Maltese c,overnment: refnslng to recoemend iategratlon to the l4altese people on the terus proposed by Iler MaJesWr 6 Goverrua€nt. 6. The breakdorqn of the integratlon talko and the subsequent reslgnation of the Mal-tese Labour Govensment 1n Ap"1l lpl8 were forloved by cl',:it dlsturbances and a Etrlke necessitatlng the declaratlon of a state of energency. Efforts to secure a return to norrlal goverrment, includlng the hol_dlng of an aLl_?arty conf,erence ln london durlng Nove&ber and Decs.ber l-958, proved fru1t1es6 and., early ln !)J), the f947 Constitutlon was revoked. and replaced by interln g,rrangenent I . 7. the lnterim congtltution placed the adnlnistrati.on 1n the hand.s of a cove"oor appolnted by the Britlsh covernment. In the fornatlon of poli cy and in the exerclEe of the por'fers conferred. upon hLm he was requlred, Eave wlth certain speclfied exceBtlonB, to consul-t the s<ecutive cor:nclL. rhe Governor durlnE 1s6l tras Adolral Str Guy Gaantham. B. [he Executlve counc11, constltuted ia accordance l{lth the provlslons of the IlJp Constltution, consisted of three ex offlclo Eenlers and 6uch other noa:.nated members, of whom not les$ thau three vere to be persons hording pubu- c office, s,B were eppotbted by the Governor. PRffiU{T CONSTS TUTION 9. It wae always the lntentlon of Her MaJestyrs Gciven::nent that the 1!!p constitution shoutd be an lnterin arvangement only and that representatlve goverIlment Bhould be restored eB BooD as practicable. After v-lsitB to Malta by the BrltlEh Secretary of State and llinlster of State for the Colonles, a congtitutlonar comrlsslon'ms eppolnted in 1960 under the cheimanship of sir lliLary 31ood. The comieer.on 'eras req[ested to forroul.ate deta ed. constlttrtLonal proposals, after due consultation vith repreBentatives of the Martese people and locaL lnterests, beari-ng in nlnd the British Government r s lntentlon that the },traltese peopre shouJ-d be g1ven the vldest neasuxe of sel-f- government conslstent wlth the Br1t16h covelnment t s reslonsiblljw for defence end forelgn affairs and their und.erta,hlngs 1n res?ect of tbe Frbu.c Sewice, the pol-ice and hum:' rlghts generally. lfrre comnlseion reported 1n March 196r and the Brltish Goverrno.ent accepted l-te recon@endatlons, A/540rlAdd.u &1gl-1sh yase 4 lo. lhe Malta ( Constitution ) Order in Ccuncil, Ij5L, wae then prorulgated and the nev Constitution caloe i,nto force on 5 \riF;T.ljl L962, fhe nev Canstitutlon prorrides for an elected }4aJ.tese legislatlve Assenbl-y of fifty members and confers inte"nal Eelf-government, TIle hunan rlghts provisions are based. on the principles l-al.d dovn in the UnLversal Declaration of Ji.r.uan ILIghte and the Elrropean convention for the Protectlon of ]tuman n:Lghts and tr\mdamental- Freedons. Under the Constitutlon Maltese rn-inisters are reBponsible for alf aspects of internal af,fairs. In addlti.on, the Me]-te6e Government 16 glven concurrent !o.9iers in the flelds of foreign affalrs (by speciflc delegation) and in natters of def ence. The Sritish responslbillties for these &attea6 ln Malta are ln the handE of the Unlted Kingdom Comlssloner, and there ls a ConBu1tative Council of vhi ch the Governor is chalrnan, and havlng equal Maltese and United Kingdom representation. me Consul-tatlve Cor:ncil ls lntended to ensure that decisLons in respect of d.efence and fo"eign affairs are based. on adequate infornation sJ]d diFcusslon, vlth a viev to preventing dlsagreements from arising and to faciLltating settlement. 11. fhe lslahds are nolr ]caown as the State of Mafta. L2. Elections for the legislatlve Asoerobl-y fomed under the nen Constitutlon took place from L7 to L9 February 1962 before the Constitution cane into force. They vere held. on a basis of univer€,aL adutt suffrage, lrlth a syetem of proportional representatlon, each voter havl-ng a single traneferable vote, nte qualiflcationE for election to @embership of the Leglslative Assenbly and the quallfications to vote are l-aid dovn in the Constitution. fhere are ten el-ectoral_ divis-J.ons, lncludlrrg the island of Gozo, each returning five nenbers. In a loll of over 90 per ceht of those qualified to vote and after a keenfy contested eLection, the Nationallst Party secured a r0ajorlty of the seats. The preFent repreEentation of the ?arties in the Assenbly is as fo]lovs: Seats ta \ -Leaoer, lJr. ul-ofgao -Borg ullv1erj 26 Mnl ta Te}lnrr1. Po rl'rr ( Leader, I4r. Don lllntoff) IO C?lristla;n Workers' ParLy )+ Democratlc Nationa].l-stc ?arty Progressive Con6titutional Party 1 ', L A/r\ol/Add..rL I ftrglish Page J Lj . Follovlng the electlons, Dr. Borg O1irrl-er accepted. offlce as Prime Mtnlster and \,ras srlrorn in on J l'{arch L962, t]ne ner+ Constltutlon belng brought into force on the 6ane day. IIe ha6 6ince announced. the appolntment of seven minlsters to his Cablnet. [tris 1e now nade up aB fo]-lows I Dr, Giovalrni F€llce . I'tlnister of Indu6trial Developnxent and Touxism Dr. AntoBLo Saris . ltlnister of Education Dr. Carmelo Caruana Minister of Agricufture Dr, Tounaso Ca"uana Demaj o l41ni ster of Justlce DT. Jo seph Spiterl . Minister of Iforks and Housing Dr. Al-e:<aader Cachla Zsrtlmlt . l{lnister of labour and Sooial We].fare Dr. ?au1 Sorg Olivj.er . l4inlster of Health 14. Shortly after his assumption of offlce, Dr, Sorg Oli1':ier entered lnto aegotlatlonp lrlth ller Majesty's Goverr:.nrent i"n london for certaln a&endments to ttxe Malta Constitutlon of 1951" As a resu.lt, ul-tlmate control of the polLce was '[ransferred. from the Governor to tt]e l'{alta Government; sinilarly the Prine Minister Malta, rather than was nad.e resBonsible appolnt@ents 1n the ,l of the Covernor, fox i zulfic Servlce, ectlng on the recomendaiiionF of the Pr:bl-1c Serrrice Conn166lon. J* i -uurrner o.r,scussrons between the Prime Ml-nister of rytral-ta and Her MaJestyrs 1 Government vere hel-d. 1n July/August 1962 on fLnancls.l sJId econonic matters. These vere held agalnst the background of pending reductions In Unit€d Klngdort Serwices I eetabll" 6hroent6 ln Malta and the need.