An evaluation of Maltese land transport legislation on the carriage of passengers with special reference to the EC transport acquis

Abstract

The thesis evaluates Maltese Land Transport Legislation on the Carriage of Passengers with special reference to the EC Transport Acquis Communautaire which, within a few years, may have to be implemented into Maltese law in view of Malta's possible accession into the EU. Maltese law on the Carriage of Passengers by Road is scattered in a variety of enactments and subsidiary regulations which are often unknown of, and not always easily found. The thesis provides an evaluation of all the domestic laws concerning the subject under review. In doing so, it provides a collection and compilation of all primary and subsidiary legislation in accordance with the different areas to which they pertain. The thesis focuses on the regulation of all forms of passenger-transport by road, including private vehicles, public transport, private unscheduled transport and taxis. It deals with issues such as, the qualification and licensing of drivers of private vehicles and professional drivers engaged in the carriage of passengers for hire or reward. It also deals with regulation of safety matters, both in regard to vehicle qualification and fitness, such as vehicle licensing and vehicle roadworthiness testing, and also in regard to the rules on safer traffic and driving, concerning inter alia, driving periods, speed limits, unfitness to drive due to drink or drugs, driver and passenger obligations, and the punishment of reckless driving. An evaluation of EC law on the matter is important in the light of the ongoing screening process in preparation for Malta's possible accession to the EU within a few years. In treating an area of law not much covered by existing literature, the thesis provides an extensive coverage of EC law on the subject under review, ranging from its development to a clear explanation of the relative provision of the EC Transport Acquis Communautaire which would have to be implemented into Maltese law in case of accession. In view of this, the thesis also provides an acute analysis of the impact of such implementation whilst giving proposals and suggestions as to amendments which would be required for this purpose.