| CODE | PBL1009 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Local Government Law | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Public Law | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This unit studies the principles of local government law. It starts off by a discussion of local governance in the Constitution of Malta and then studies the provisions of the Local Councils Act, Chapter 363, and the subsidiary legislation made thereunder. It will focus on the administrative machinery of local authorities, the functions of mayor, councillor and executive secretary, the making of bye-laws and their enforcement, local authority finance, contract, tort and criminal liability, central government controls on local government, judicial control on local government, legal proceedings by and against local authorities, local authorities and the planning process. Study-unit Aims The study-unit aims are the following: (a) to familiarise the student with Maltese law on local government; (b) to familiarise the student with case law of the Maltese courts on local government law; (c) to study how devolution has worked since 1993 in the Maltese experience; (d) to discuss the control exercised by the Minister responsible for local government on the advice of the Director of Local Government on local councils; (e) to compare and contrast the Maltese system of local government to that in select foreign countries such as the British and Italian. Learning Outcomes 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: (a) know and be in a position to advice on the provisions of Maltese law regulating local government law; (b) know and be able to advice on the pertinent case law of the Maltese Courts on local government law; (c) write about the relationship between central government and local government and how the latter is supervised by the former; (d) identify those cases where breaches of bye-laws made by local councils can amount to a sanction at law; (e) report on the cases where the judiciary may contain local councils' powers if the latter are exercised in breach of the law; (f) carry out a comparative exercise with other foreign states' local government law. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: (a) identify the provisions of Maltese Law dealing with local government as spread over the statute book; (b) advise local councils on local government law setting out their functions and powers as well as those organs of the state having power to review decisions taken by local councils; (c) advise local councils as to the financial regulations which apply to local councils as well as to the rules of procedure to be followed by local councils during their meetings; (d) critically appraise the lacunae and difficulties posed by Maltese local government law from a comparative perspective. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings Available at the University of Malta Library: - Sir Ivor Jennings, ‘Principles of Local Government Law’, University of London Publications, 4th edition, 1960. RSC - Natalino Attard, ‘The Role of Local Authorities Within the Framework of the European Union Institutions, Magister Juris in European & Comparative Law thesis, Faculty of Laws, September 1995. - Paul Borg Olivier, ‘Local Councils in Malta: Some Considerations of the Law from a Comparative Perspective’, LL.D. thesis, Faculty of Laws, June 1995. - Henri Darmanin, 'The European Charter of Local Self-Government', LL.D. thesis, Faculty of Laws, 2009. Supplementary Readings: - Stephen Bailey, ‘Cross on Principles of Local Government Law’, London, Sweet & Maxwell, 1992. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Kevin Aquilina |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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