FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE NOTARIAL COLLEGE AND NOTARIAL COUNCIL REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 55.01

FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE NOTARIAL

COLLEGE AND NOTARIAL COUNCIL

REGULATIONS

16th March, 1928

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 64 of 1928, as amended by Government Notice

67 of 1937; Act XIII of 1983; and Legal Notice 408 of 2007.

The title of these Regulations is Functions of Duties of the

Notarial College and Notarial Council Regulations.

The Notarial College

The Notarial College shall be composed of all the notaries

actually in the exercise of their profession in Malta and Gozo.

Notaries who have been suspended, incapacitated or

temporarily interdicted from the exercise of their profession shall

continue to form part of the college but shall not attend the sittings

as long as the suspension, incapacitation or interdiction lasts.

The college will hold ordinary and extraordinary meetings

which shall be called by a notice published by the President of the

Notarial Council in the hall of the Council, and transmitted to each

notary with an indication of the agenda, at least ten days

beforehand, except in cases of urgency.

No subject shall be discussed at any meeting which has not

been indicated in the notice calling such meeting.

When an urgent meeting has been called, the members

present shall approve of its urgency before proceeding to deal with

the agenda; the notice for such meetings shall be given at least

twenty-four hours previously.

The ordinary meeting of the college shall be held yearly

during the month of December for the object of nominating the

members of the Council for the ensuing year.

Extraordinary meetings shall be held whenever the Council

will deem it convenient, or one-third of notaries in the exercise of

their profession composing the college have applied for such a

meeting, or an election has become necessary, consequent on the

death, resignation or lapse of membership of a councillor.

The office of President and that of Secretary shall be held

by the Pre sident and the Secret ary of the Nota rial C ouncil

respectively, or, in default, by those who are acting as such.

For the validity of the proceedings, the presence of at least

one-third of the notaries belonging to the college shall be required;

should one-third of the notaries fail to respond to the first call, a

second call will be made and the deliberations of the college, at the

meeting held in response to the second call, shall be valid whatever

the number of members present.

The provisions of regulation 14 are applicable to the

college.

The Notarial Council

The Notarial Council shall be composed of nine members

to be selected by the Notarial College from among notaries in the

exercise of their profession composing the said college.

Relatives by blood or affinity to the third degree

inclusively may not be members of the Notarial Council

simultaneously, and in the event of such simultaneous election the

junior notary shall be precluded from sitting on the Council.

The members of the Council shall remain in office for three

years and shall be eligible for re-election.

One third of the members of the Council shall be replaced

yearly, according to their seniority as members of the college, the

first batch of vacancies being determined by lot.

Lots shall also be drawn in the case of councillors of equal

seniority.

The notary who surrogates a councillor who, through death

or other cause, has ceased to exercise his functions, shall remain in

office only for a period for which the councillor surrogated by him

would have remained in office.

Should more than one surrogate be required, the one who

has obtained the greater number of votes, and, in the event of

equality of votes, the senior in the exercise of the profession, shall

surrogate the councillor who has remained in office for a longer

period.

The election of the members of the Council shall be made

by means of secret voting lists.

Those obtaining an absolute majority of votes at the first

ballot shall be deemed to have been elected.

Should anyone fail to obtain such majority, or should the

number of members elected be less than that for which the election

has been held, a second ballot shall take place during the same

sitting and the members obtaining the greater number of votes shall

be deemed to have been elected.

On an equality of votes, preference shall be given to the member

who is senior in the exercise of the profession, and in case of equal

seniority to the elder member.

The Notarial Council shall elect from its own body the

President, the Secretary and the Treasurer, in accordance with the

rules established in the preceding regulation.

They shall remain in office for the period of three years and

shall be eligible for confirmation should they retain their seats on

the Council.

The Secretary should be selected preferably from among

t h e n o t a r i e s r e s i d i n g i n Va l l e t t a ; a n d o n e q u a l i t y o f v o t e s

preference should be given to the elder for the office of President

and to the younger for that of Secretary.

In the absence of the President and the Secretary, their

duties shall be discharged by the elder and by the younger member

of the Council, respectively.

The President shall convene the Council, shall be its

representative, shall preside its meetings, shall regulate its

proceedings and shall correspond with the authorities after taking

the advice of the Council on matters coming within its competence.

The Secretary shall have the charge of the office of the

Council and be responsible therefor; he shall prepare the minutes of

proceedings, shall keep all documents relative thereto, and, with

the President’s authority, shall issue copies of the deliberations of

the Council and of the Notarial College.

The minutes of proceedings shall be signed by the President

and the Secretary.

The deliberations of the Council and of the college shall be

signed by the Secretary jointly with the President.

Any deliberations concerning disciplinary measures shall

be signed by all the members present.

Any person may, by payment of the relative fee established

by the notarial tariff, obtain copies of deliberations, barring

deliberations which concern persons, copies of the latter

deliberations shall be obtainable by those to whom they refer.

The Treasurer of the Council shall collect any fees due to

the Notarial College and to the Notarial Council from whatever

source, shall be responsible for the monies belonging to the college

a n d s h a ll p a y f o r th e w a r r a nt s i s s u e d b y t he P r e s i d e n t a nd

countersigned by the Secretary.

For the validity of the deliberations of the Council the

intervention of the majority of its members shall be necessary.

The deliberations are taken by a majority of the members

present, and on an equality of votes the President shall have the

casting vote.

Votes shall be recorded openly; however in matters

concerning persons the voting shall be by secret ballot, and in case

of an equality of votes, the deliberation shall be deemed favourable

to the person to whom it refers.

Any members failing to attend three consecutive sittings,

without adducing to the Council a legitimate impediment within

one month from the communication made to them by the President,

or the member acting as such, of the deliberation establishing their

absence, shall be declared to have ceased to be members of the

Council, and in case the Council is unable to take a valid

deliberation for want of quorum, the declaration shall be made by

the Notarial College convoked by the available members of the

Council.

FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES OF THE NOTARIAL COLLEGE

AND NOTARIAL COUNCIL

In addition to the attributions devolving on it by law, the

Council -

(a) shall ensure the observance of due decorum in the

exercise of the profession and in the professional

conduct of notaries, and of exactitude in the

performance of their duties;

(b) shall watch over the conduct of articled notaries and

on the manner in which their duties are carried out,

and shall issue the relative certificates;

(c) shall, at the request of the competent authorities, give

its views on matters relating to the notarial profession;

(d) shall frame and certify yearly the role of notaries

exercising their profession and of articled notaries;

(e) shall intervene, when requested with a view to settling

differences between notaries, or between notaries and

third parties, concerning the return of papers or

documents, questions of expenses or honorarium, or

any other matter relative to the exercise of the notarial

profession.

The notarial profession

Any disciplinary measures decided upon by the Notarial

Council will be communicated by order of the President, to the

Minister responsible for Justice.

In the office of the Notarial Council there shall be kept -

(a) a register of correspondence received and sent by the

Council, in which all applications received shall be

recorded day by day;

(b) a register of sittings and decisions taken by the

college;

(c) a register of sittings and decisions taken by the

Notarial Council;

The two last mentioned registers shall contain a précis of the

proceedings;

(d) a register of articled notaries;

(e) a register of the signatures of notaries;

(f)

the roll of notaries in the exercise of their profession;

(g) the roll of deceased notaries and of notaries who have

ceased to exercise their profession, with the relative

indication of the notaries appointed keepers of their

acts and registers;

All the above registers shall be kept by the Secretary who in case of

contravention, shall become liable to a fine (ammenda) not

exceeding one euro and sixteen cents (1.16);

(h) a counter-foil book for moneys to be collected from

any source whatsoever;

(i)

a cash-book for moneys received and paid;

(j)

a register of payment-orders;

the three last mentioned registers shall be kept by the Treasurer,

who, in case of contravention, shall be liable to a fine (ammenda)

not exceeding one euro and sixteen cents (1.16).

To meet expenses, a fee of one euro and sixteen cents

(1.16) per annum, payable in advance, shall be imposed on each

notary in the actual exercise of his profession.

Any change in the composition of the Notarial Council or

in the roll of notaries shall be reported by the President of the

Notarial Council to the Minister responsible for Justice, without

delay.

No member of the Council or of the Notarial College shall

take part in deliberations or be present at discussions, when the

matter to be dealt with concerns him personally or concerns his

relatives by blood or affinity in direct line to any degree or in any

collateral line to the third degree inclusively.