I refer to the report Bad Apples Lead To Change In Notarial Act (October 5).
The need to amend the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Act (chapter 55 of the Laws of Malta) has been felt for a considerable number of years.
During the three terms I served as president of the Notarial Council I presented various amendments to chapter 55, however, these never saw the light of day, notwithstanding that the minister agreed to the great majority of these amendments. Today, the amendments proposed by the Notarial Council under my presidency have all been incorporated in the Bill number 20/2011. Not only amendments formally presented to the government are incorporated in the Bill, but one also finds the policy adopted by the Notarial Council under my presidency, where notarial practice and the examination leading to the granting of a warrant to practise the profession are concerned. This policy had been adopted to have better-trained notaries and hence offer a better guarantee to the public.
I also feel I have to comment on José Herrera’s valid and interesting contribution in Parliament as reported in The Times.
Dr Herrera states that “… it had become a custom that after having obtained University qualifications, the warrant exam became more of a formality”. This implies that up till today this examination was just a formality. I formed part of the notaries examination board several times and I categorically state that the warrant exam is not “a formality”; in fact whenever I served on the examination board several candidates failed.
The warrant examination is a tough examination and is intended to be such.
Dr Herrera makes reference to the Italian notariat. The level of preparation of an Italian notary is very high. The “warrant” examination is also tough and, as the number of notaries are limited, only the very best are granted a warrant to practise the notarial profession.
Dr Herrera rightly states that “… a notary was as important as a magistrate”. Yes, this is so; in fact, when there was a backlog of civil cases regarding civil matters in the Italian Courts, the ministry of justice asked notaries to volunteer to act as temporary judges – the notary, just as a judge, always acts impartially to the persons who appear before him in the course of his notarial practice.
Having mentioned the courts, I submit that Maltese notaries can take some of the work performed by the courts today. Work carried out by the Court of Voluntary Jurisdiction can be done by a notary public. The courts will ease their workload and the public will be served faster and cheaper.