DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS REGULATIONS

DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 55.02

DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS

REGULATIONS

1st March, 2004

LEGAL NOTICE 86 of 2004, as amended by Legal Notice 408 of 2007.

The title of these Regulations is Duplicate Register of

Notarial Acts Regulations.

Where, as the result of enemy or counter-enemy action or

for any other reason whatsoever, any original Notarial Acts, or any

registers of acts preserved in the Notarial Archives established in

Malta or in Gozo, have been lost, destroyed or so damaged as to

make easy reference thereto impracticable or impossible, the

following provisions shall have effect.

(1) It shall be the duty of the Keeper of Notarial Archives

in Malta or in Gozo, as the case may be, hereinafter referred to as

"the Keeper of Notarial Archives", to prepare a duplicate register of

all original acts deposited in the Archives of Malta or of Gozo, lost,

destroyed or damaged as aforesaid, and a new register of all such

original acts where the original register has been so lost, destroyed

or damaged.

(2) (i) The duplicate register referred to in subregulation (1)

shall be compiled by reference to the register prepared by a Notary

in accordance with the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives

Act or, as the case may be, in accordance with the relevant law or

practice prevailing from time to time before the enactment of that

Act.

(ii) The new register referred to in subregulation (1) shall

be compiled by reference to the original acts.

(iii) Where both the original acts and the original registers

are lost, destroyed or damaged as aforesaid, the duplicate register

and the new register shall be compiled by reference to any copy or

copies of the original acts, authenticated in accordance with the

provisions of the aforesaid Act or preceding law or practice by the

Notary who issued that copy or those copies, that may be available

in the possession of any person, or, in default of any known such

authenticated copy, by reference to any copy or copies even if not

authenticated and, if necessary, by reference to any notes available

Provided that in every such case the Keeper of Notarial

Archives shall record in writing at the foot of each copy so made of

a deed, the source or sources of that copy and any relevant details

relating thereto

Provided further that where a complete duplicate register is

compiled from one original register, it shall be sufficient for the

Keeper of Notarial Archives to make a signed declaration at the end

of each duplicate register that such register has been collated with

the relative original register.

DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS

(3) The aforementioned duplicate register shall be made either

by means of photocopying or by microfilming or by electronic

means, or by such other means as will give a clear permanent copy

of the registers, original acts or copies referred to in subregulation

(2)(i), (ii) and (iii) as the case may be.

(4) The Keeper of Notarial Archives may cause one or more

volumes of the original register or of the original acts to be

included in one volume of the duplicate register or of the new

register or to subdivide any volume of the original register or of the

original acts into two or more volumes of the duplicate register or

of the new register, provided that in no case shall any one volume

of the duplicate register or of the new register contain more than

seven hundred and fifty pages.

(1) Every Keeper or person in possession of a register or of

any authenticated copy or copies or of other copies or of notes from

which the duplicate register or, as the case may be, the new register

can be compiled shall, on the demand of the Keeper of the Notarial

Archives, grant all necessary facilities to enable the Keeper to

prepare such duplicate register or new register.

(2) The Keeper of the Notarial Archives shall be empowered to

request any possessor or Keeper of the registers or copies or notes

referred to in subregulation (1) to give him temporary possession of

any such registers or documents for the purposes of compiling the

duplicate register and to retain such registers or documents in the

Notarial Archives for such time as is required for the compilation

of the duplicate register and the collation thereof provided that the

Keeper of Notarial Archives shall issue to such possessor or keeper

a receipt for any such register or documents, which receipt shall be

returned to the Keeper of the Notarial Archives on the return of

such register or documents to the keeper or possessor provided

further that such register or documents shall be delivered to the

Keeper of Notarial Archives in a good state of repair and so

returned by him.

(3) Until such time as the aforesaid registers or documents are

in the possession of the Keeper of the Notarial Archives he shall

take due care of them in the manner prescribed in the principal law

as regards original acts or registers deposited in the Archives.

(4) The expenses involved for the compilation of the said

duplicate registers including transportation of the registers or

documents referred to in subregulation (1) and the binding of such

duplicate registers, shall be a charge on the public fund; for such

purposes provision therefor shall be made in the estimates under

the Office of the Notary to Government.

(5) No remuneration or other payment shall be due to the

possessor or keeper of the registers or documents referred to in

subregulation (1) for the temporary use of such registers or

documents by the Keeper of Notarial Archives for the purposes of

compiling the duplicate registers.

(1) The Duplicate Register or new registers prepared in

accordance with these regulations shall be authenticated by the

DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS

Keeper of the Notarial Archives or by such other officer not below

the grade of Notary to Government delegated by him for such

purpose, and such person authenticating the duplicate registers or

new registers shall ensure that these are in conformity with the

original registers or original acts or documents referred to in

regulation 3(2)(i), (ii) and (iii).

(2) Such authentication shall be effected by means of a signed

declaration at the end of each volume in which declaration

reference shall be made to the sources from which the duplicate

register or the new register has been compiled.

Any person who without reasonable and justified cause

refuses to comply with the provisions of regulation 4(1) and (2)

shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (ammenda) not exceeding

one thousand and one hundred and sixty-four euros and sixty-nine

cents (1,164.69) to be imposed by the Court of Revision of Notarial

Acts established under the Notarial Profession and Notarial

Archives Act, composed of one of the Visitors of Notarial Acts, and

in inflicting such fine the said Court may give such orders as it may

deem necessary to enable the Keeper of Notarial Archives to

prepare the duplicate register or the new register, and, without

prejudice to the making of any such order, the Court may, on the

application of the Keeper of Notarial Archives, sub-poena any

person to deliver to the Keeper of Notarial Archives any registers

or acts or copies of, or extracts from, acts, and, should such sub-

poena be disregarded, it may order the seizure of the registers or

the acts or copies of, or extracts from, acts mentioned in the sub-

poena

Provided that in any such case where the Court of Revision

of Notarial Acts is not competent in the matter, the same powers

shall be exercised by the Court of Magistrates (Malta) or the Court

of Magistrates (Gozo) sitting as a Court of Criminal Judicature.