Search and arrest in Maltese criminal law

Abstract

The order of the words forming the title of this work may need a short explanation. More often than not it is "Arrest and Search". I chose to invert the sequence. I did this deliberately. Not to be different. Not to be original. Arrest results in, among other things, search of the individual's person. Yet it appears that often the proceedings of arrest start or rather follow from a previous phase; a search of premises - house,· store, office - car or other belongings, movable and immovable, of the suspect. On discovery of objects that may have been used or may be intended to be used, or the use of which is manifestly intended for the commission of a crime, or that may have been stolen, the person in whose possession these objects are found, is often, though not invariably, arrested either for interrogation or while further investigations are bang carried out by the police so as to prevent i:heir being hampered in their work, or pending formal arraignment in Court. A search may also be indirect: it may not be a physical search of the person of the suspect. It may be mere interception of spoken words or "listening in" to incriminating talk, conversation or discussion and reading of plans, agreements to commit a crime or imperil the safety of the State~ This rather novel mode of 'search' is being dealt with in Chapter 7. The two notions are not necessarily dependant one on the other. Search need not be followed by arrest nor need the arrested person be searched. On the other hand Arrest may follow search or the other way about. But, which comes first is not bound by any rule, written or not. This, being the contention that is being held in this work, explains in part why this modest attempt is being made to throw some light on "Search and Arrest in Maltese criminal Law". Yet, it may be apposite to point out, by way of explanation, that as Maltese jurisprudence is not very copious on these two notions, the title may appear to be somewhat misleading. Since the notions are being considered both generically and in their connotations in the legal systems of some other countries it might perhaps have been more to the point, though it would be wide - open to the charge of pedantry and verbosity if the title had been "Search and Arrest with some reference to Maltese Criminal Law".