Local Government was established in 1993 following the Maltese Parliament’s approval of the Local Councils Act (Chapter 363 of the Laws of Malta)
on 30 June 1993. This law set up Local Councils in 67 localities (later increased to 68). Furthermore, it now serves as a regulatory mechanism for Local Councils’ operations.
The Local Councils Act was modelled on the European Charter of Local Self-Government
(Council of Europe), which the Maltese Government had signed and ratified. According to this Act, a Local Council “shall be a statutory local government authority having a distinct legal personality and capable of entering into contracts, of suing and being sued, and of doing all such things and entering into such transactions as are incidental or conducive to the exercise and performance of its functions as are allowed under the Act.”
Today, Malta has 68 Local Councils – 54 in Malta and 14 in Gozo. The Local Councils Act was revised considerably by the Local Councils (Amendment) Act 1999 (Act No. XXI of 1999) published on 21 December 1999 and Act No. XVI of 2009 as part of the Local Government Reform 2009.
Another important step taken to consolidate Local Government in Malta was when the system of local government was entrenched in the Constitution of Malta. In fact, on 24 April 2001, Act No. XIII of 2001 established that:
“The State shall adopt a system of local government whereby the territory of Malta shall be divided into such number of localities as may by law be from time to time determined, each locality to be administered by a Local Council elected by the residents of the locality and established and operating in terms of such law as may from time to time be in force”.
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