Article 55: Tenure of office of members

Chapter VI - Parliament
1
Every member of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House -
a
at the next dissolution of Parliament after his election;
b
if he ceases to be a citizen of Malta;
c
if he absents himself from the sittings of the House for such period and in such circumstances as may be prescribed in the Standing Orders of the House;
d
if he ceases to be qualified to be registered as a voter for the election of members of the House of Representatives;
e
if he ceases to be qualified to be a member of the House of Representatives otherwise than by reason of age;
f
if he becomes a party to a contract with the Government of Malta being a contract which, under the last preceding article, would disqualify him for election, or if any share or interest in such a contract comes to him by succession or marriage and he fails to disclose to the Speaker in writing the nature of such contract and his interest or the interest of his spouse therein within one month of the date when such interest comes to him as aforesaid;
g
if he is absent from Malta, without the leave of the House first having been obtained, for a continuous period of more than six months;
h
if, in the circumstances mentioned in sub-article (2) of this article, he is required, by virtue of the provisions of that sub-article, to vacate his seat; or
i
if he resigns his seat by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker or, if the office of Speaker is vacant or the Speaker is absent from Malta, to the Deputy Speaker.
2
(a) If circumstances arise that, if he were not a member of the House of Representatives, would cause him to be disqualified for election thereto by virtue of paragraph (a) of sub-article (1) of article 54 of this Constitution, a member of the House shall, if Parliament has so provided, not vacate his seat until such time as is provided by any such law; any such law may, in order to protect the composition of the House as elected, provide that at no point in time shall more than three members of the House be entitled to continue as members by virtue of this paragraph.
b
The provisions of paragraph (a) of this sub-article shall apply without prejudice to, and independently of any provisions contained in article 54(1)(a) of this Constitution.
3
A member of the House of Representatives who becomes a party to a contract with the Government of Malta which, by virtue of paragraph (c) of sub-article (1) of article 54 of this Constitution, would disqualify him for election thereto shall be guilty of an offence against this article and shall, on conviction thereof before the court of civil jurisdiction, be liable to a penalty of not more than fifty liri a day for every day that, in breach of the provisions of this article, he has remained a member of the House of Representatives; and every such penalty shall be recoverable as a civil debt: Provided that the Speaker shall not refer to the court of civil jurisdiction a case of breach of the provisions of this article unless in his opinion a prima facie case of such breach has been established.

Amendment History

2016-07-18 - Amendment regarding dual citizenship and tenure of office

Legal Reference: Act XLIV of 2016

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Notes

This article establishes the circumstances under which a member of the House of Representatives must vacate their seat, including dissolution of Parliament, cessation of citizenship, absence from sittings, contractual relationships with government, and resignation.