Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal

Pursuant to Article 26 of the Data Protection Act, any person who feels aggrieved by a decision of the Information and Data Protection Commissioner shall have the right to appeal in writing to the Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal within twenty (20) days from receipt of the notification of the said decision.

The Tribunal consists of a Chairman, two other members and a secretary. They are all appointed by the Minister. The Chairman shall be an advocate with a minimun of twelve years legal experience and the members shall be persons to represent the interests of data subjects and data controllers. For the exercise of its functions, the Tribunal has the same powers as are competent to the First Hall, Civil Court according to law and may regulate its own procedure.

On 28th August 2020, Dr Anna Mallia has been appointed as Chairperson of the Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal together with Mr Charles Cassar and Mr David Bezzina who will serve as members. Their appointment is for a period of three (3) years. Appeals are to be filed at the following address:

The Secretary
Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal
158, Merchant’s Street, Valletta.

Guidelines when filing an appeal before the Information and Data Protection Appeals Tribunal:

-  The appeal shall retain the names of the parties (okkju) as contained in the Commissioner's decision.

-  The appeal shall contain the appealed decision, documents pertinent to the case and a list of all witnesses that the party intends to produce in support of the case. Besides the name and address of each witness, such list shall contain an indication of the proof that it is intended to make by the production of each witness.

-  The appellant is to provide five (5) signed true copies of the appeal.

-  On receipt of an appeal, the Secretary shall inform the Chairman who shall fix a date for the hearing of the appeal or for its consideration, as the case may be.

-  Copy of the appeal will be forwarded to the appealed party who will be given time to reply.

-  To expedite any communication between the Tribunal and the appellant, an email address should also be provided.

Any party to an appeal to the Tribunal who feels aggrieved by a decision of the Tribunal may on a question of law appeal to the Court of Appeal as constituted in accordance with article 41(9) of the Code of Organisation and Civil Procedure by means of an application filed in the registry of that court within twenty (20) days from the date on which that decision has been notified.

For any enquiries, you may contact the Secretary of the Tribunal on: dataprotectionappeals.tribunal@gov.mt