Data Protection Act (Cap. 586), article 11

11. (1) There shall be an Information and Data Protection Commissioner, who shall be appointed by the Prime Minister acting on the advice of the Cabinet of Ministers after consulting the Leader of the Opposition, to perform the duties of supervisory authority for the purposes of Chapter VI of the Regulation. (2) The Commissioner shall be responsible for monitoring and enforcing the application of the provisions of this Act and t h e Regulation, in order to protect the fundamental rights and free doms of natural persons in relation to processing of personal data a nd to facilitate the free flow of pers onal data between Malta and any other Member State. (3) A person shall not be qualified to hold office as Commissioner if he: (a) is a Minister, Parliamentary Secretary, or a Member of the House of Representatives; or (b) is a judge or magistrate of the courts of justice; or (c) is an officer in the public service; or (d) is a member of a local council; or 8 [CAP. 586. DATA PROTECTION (e) has a financial or other interest in any enterprise or activity which is likely to affect the discharge of his functions as a Commissioner. (4) The Information and Data Protection Commissioner shall have the qualifications, experience and skills, in partic ular in the area of the protection of persona l data, required to perform hi s duties and exercise his powers in accordance with the provisions of Ar ticle 53(2) of the Regulation. Independence of functions.