LAND REGISTRATION AGENCY (ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 595.31

LAND REGISTRATION AGENCY

(ESTABLISHMENT) ORDER

15 th January 2019

LEGAL NOTICE 4 of 2019, as amended by Legal Notice 327 of

2024.

The title of this Order is the Land Registration Agency

(Establishment) Order.

In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires

"the Act" means the Public Administration Act;

"Agency" means the

Land

Registration

Agency

established by this Order;

"Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive

Officer appointed in terms of article 6;

"Committee" means the

Consultative

Committee

appointed in terms of article 11;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for the Land

Registry;

"Permanent Secretary" means the Permanent Secretary in

the Ministry responsible for Land Registration.

There shall be an agency, to be known as the Land

Registration Agency which shall be responsible

(a)

to carry out the functions and duties of public

administration in relation to the following matters

(i)

land registration, as regulated under the

Land Registration Act;

(ii)

condominium registration, as regulated

under the Condominium Act;

Provided that when the matters referred to

in this sub-article consist of or include the administration

or investment of funds, the Minister shall act with the

concurrence of the Minister responsible for Finance in

making the said determination;

(b)

to assist the Minister, from time to time,

responsible for matters relating to Land Registration and

Condominium Registration;

(c)

to see to the carrying out of the functions and

duties of the Land Registrar appointed under the Land

Registration Act.

(d)

exercise all the functions of the Land Registrar

assigned to him in accordance with Land Registration Act and

any other law.

(e)

to advise the Minister on any matter and action

concerning policy and strategy on land registration that shall

take due account of the specific circumstances and requirements

of Malta, from time to time;

(f)

to administer any budgetary allocation as may be

assigned to it for purposes related to land registration or such

other purposes as may be related to such budgetary allocation;

and

(g)

to carry out any other function related to the

activities of land registration, as may be delegated to it by the

Minister.

(1)

The Minister responsible for the Agency shall be

the Minister responsible for the Land Registry.

(2)

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for

Land Registration will oversee the Agency in accordance with article

29 of the Act

Provided that the Prime Minister may assign responsibility

of the Agency to another Minister and its supervision to the Permanent

Secretary of that Ministry.

(1)

The Agency, in consultation with the Minister,

establish and reorganize units, divisions and sections as appropriate to

exercise its functions.

(2)

The operations of the Agency shall be carried out in

accordance with the Agency performance agreement made in

accordance with article 30 of the Act.

The Minister shall appoint a Chief Executive Officer for a

period of three (3) years which may be extended for further periods of

three (3) years each.

(1)

Subject to other provisions of this order, the

executive conduct of the Agency, its administration, organisation and

the administrative control of its officers and employees, shall be the

responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer.

(2)

The Chief Executive Officer shall be responsible for the

implementation of the objectives of the Agency in the exercise of its

functions and, without prejudice to the generality of sub-article (1), it

shall

(a)

assume full responsibility for the overall

supervision and general control of the units, divisions and

sections;

(b)

assign to each unit, division and section such

duties as considered necessary or expedient;

(c)

coordinate the work of the units, divisions and

sections;

(d)

develop the necessary strategies

for

the

implementation of the Agency’s objectives; and

(e)

perform such other duties as the Minister may

assign from time to time.

(1)

Public Officials employed with the Agency will

be considered to have been assigned with the Agency in accordance

with article 33 of the Act.

(2)

Subject to the provisions of the Act and any other

legislation, the appointment of officers and other employees of the

Agency shall be made by the Chief Executive Officer, in accordance

with the policies of the Agency from time to time.

The Agency shall be subject to the provisions of Title 2 of

Part III of the Act and shall be governed by those provisions.

Without prejudice to any Agency performance

agreement, the Agency shall be governed by the Public Finance

Management Act.

(1) There shall be a Consultative Committee appointed

by the Minister, which Committee shall assist the Chief Executive

Officer.

(2)

The Committee shall have the following functions

(a)

to advise on the decisions entrusted to the Agency

as the case may be;

(b)

to assess and provide recommendations to the

Chief Executive Officer on issues regarding registration of

land;

(c)

to provide recommendations to the Chief

Executive Officer on the formulation, updating and

implementation of policies and procedures on land registration

and any such matter as may be necessary for the better carrying

out the functions of the Agency; and

(d)

to advise on long and short term objectives and

strategies for the proper administration of the Agency.

(3)

The Committee shall consist of the Chief Executive

Officer as an ex officio member, a Chairperson and four (4) other

members who shall be appointed by the Minister.

(4)

The Chairperson shall be in possession of a warrant to

exercise the profession of a notary or an advocate.

(5)

The Minister shall select the other members from among

persons he deems qualified by reason of having had experience of and

demonstrated capability in matters relating to the functions of the

Agency conflict resolution or arbitration.

(6)

The remuneration paid to the members of the Committee

shall be in accordance with the Act and established guidelines and

criteria as may be applicable from time to time within the public

sector.

(7)

Without prejudice to any other provision of this order,

the Committee may make its own rules and otherwise regulate its own

procedures after consultation with the Minister.

(1)

The members of the Committee shall hold office

for a period of up to three (3) years and on such terms and conditions

as the Minister may deem appropriate

Provided that a member shall, on the expiry of the term

of appointment, be eligible for re-appointment for further periods of

three (3) years each

Provided further that any member may, before the

expiration of the term of office, resign by letter addressed to the

Minister.

(2)

The Minister may at any time terminate the appointment

of any member of the Committee if the Minister considers that such

member is unfit to continue in office or has become incapable of

properly performing the duties of a member of the Committee.

(3)

If a member is appointed at any time after any one (1) or

more members have already been appointed, the term of appointment

of all members shall end after three (3) years since the appointment of

the first member of the Committee.

(1)

There shall be appointed a Secretary to the

Committee, who shall be appointed by the Minister for a period of

three (3) years and shall, on the expiry of the term of appointment, be

eligible for re-appointment.

(2)

The Secretary to the Committee shall not be a member of

the Committee but shall attend its meetings.

(3)

The Secretary to the Committee shall be responsible for

keeping the minutes of meetings of the Committee and for keeping

such registers and records as the Secretary may be required to keep by

the Committee

Provided that the Secretary shall transmit a copy of the

approved minutes to the Minister after each meeting.

(4)

The Secretary to the Committee shall ensure that at least

seven (7) days prior notice of all meetings is given to all Committee

members.

Without prejudice to any other duty assigned to the

members of the Committee, whether individually or collectively by

this order or any other law, the members of the Committee shall

(a)

act honestly and in good faith and promote the

best interests of the Agency;

(b)

be obliged to exercise the degree of care,

diligence and skill which would be exercised by a reasonably

diligent person having both

(i)

the knowledge, skill and experience that

may reasonably be expected of a person carrying out the

same functions as are carried out by or entrusted to said

Committee member in relation to the Agency; and

(ii)

the knowledge, skill, and experience which

such Committee member has;

(c)

not make any profit from their position, nor make

personal gain or give any advantage to any third party from

confidential Agency information;

(d)

ensure that their personal interests are not in

conflict with the interests of the Agency;

(e)

not use any property or information of the Agency

for their own benefit or for the benefit of any other person, nor

obtain benefit in any other way in connection with the exercise

of their powers; and

(f)

exercise the powers they have only for the

intended purposes and not misuse such powers.