Merchant Shipping Act (Cap. 234), article 371D

371D. (1) If the prisoner is being kept in custody on board a foreign merchant ship, not under a written order of a public authority, but for the purpose of being conveyed to a port in the State of his or the ship's nationality, there to be tried for a n offence committed on board the same ship during the voyage, it shall al so 170 CAP. 234.] MERCHANT SHIPPING be lawful for the Pres ident of Malta, at the request of the con sul, or any other person exercising the function of consul of the State to which the ship belongs, to direct that such prisoner be left on board the ship, or, according to circumstances, that he be kept in a public prison until he may be taken back to the same or to another shi p, in order to be conveyed to the said port, provided however the magistrate, after hearing the prisoner and the evidence adduced , finds - (a) that, according to such evidence, if the offence had been committed within the ju risdiction of Malta, there would be sufficient reas ons for committing the accused for trial; (b) that the offence is an extradition offence under any law relating to extradition in force in Malta, even though such law may not apply to fugitive criminals of the said State. (2) The provisions of this article shall not apply in any case i n which the accused may, accordi ng to law, be tried in Malta. Magistrate may order person kept in custody to be taken to a public prison. Added by: II. 2015.2.