Continental Shelf Act (Act No. XXVIII of 2014).

This Act sets out the legislative framework governing the exploration and exploitation of the continental shelf of Malta. The Act defines the continental shelf as the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond the territorial waters of Malta to a limit established in accordance with international law, measured from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial waters is measured. The Government of Malta shall have the exclusive right to exploit the subsoil of the continental shelf, as well as to authorise and regulate any activity, including but not limited to drilling and tunnelling, on the continental shelf for all purposes, irrespective of the depth of water above the said subsoil. Further provisions concern power to make regulations of the Prime Minister and criminal and civil jurisdiction in these matters.