Over the past years, circumstances have occurred whereby the notarial profession was becoming outdated. Notaries felt the need for more updated laws and regulations to improve the image of the profession and to ensure the relationship between the notary and those seeking his/her services remained to be based on trust.
If there is a profession that needs certainty, it is surely the one that notaries practise- Ian Castaldi Paris
If there is a profession that needs certainty, it is surely the one that notaries practise. The reason is that there can be very serious repercussions if something, somewhere goes wrong. The notary is often seen as that person who gives peace of mind in different stages during one’s life. The reason for mentioning different stages in one’s life is because the services rendered by a notary are needed for different reasons, for instance, when somebody purchases property, when one starts a business and takes a loan from a bank to finance it, when one determines who one’s heirs will be after one’s demise or when one wants to partition property held in common. The list of instances whereby the services of a notary become necessary carries on and on.
The notary is seen many times as a friend and consultant of each and every person who requires his service. It is here that merit should be given to the government, which identified this profession as one that needed a positive way forward. This could only be done by someone who was ready to work with the notarial profession and the Chief Notary to the Government to bring out the best product and result and such person is Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi.
One must also point out that the two major departments that deal with property – the Joint Office and the Land Department – have seen a lot of restructuring and improvement thanks to Dr Azzopardi’s secretariat.
It surely was not an easy task for Dr Azzopardi to bring to a successful conclusion the parliamentary journey that led to the extensive amendments to the notarial law. This necessitated studying in depth the existing law, considering proposals for reform that had been made over the years and, especially, the proposals by the council representing notaries in Malta and Gozo and making those changes that would reflect today’s society.
On the one hand, the government wants to see this profession yielding the fruits it should give but, on the other hand, it could not ignore what has happened over the last years when the public witnessed unacceptable behaviour by notaries who failed to fulfil their duties and obligations.
The new laws require the notary to be insured, thus offering security to the practising notary himself but, at the same time, also to the public.
Funds entrusted to a notary, such as deposits, must be kept in an account whose existence shall be registered with the Notarial Council. Such a move does not only benefit the notary but also the person entitled to receiving such funds.
Should the notary have personal creditors or become insolvent, these funds shall in no way be affected.
All notaries will know when they would have to submit for verification the notarial acts they published in the previous year. If they fail to do so, they will be incapacitated from publishing notarial acts until they regularise their position. If a notary persists and remains uncooperative his/her warrant would be withdrawn.
It is a big step ahead to finally get this profession back on track and, at the same time, give it the dignity and honour it always had.
The amendments to the law proposed by the government were passed with the full support of the opposition. This bodes very well for the profession and for the public the profession serves.
The author is a notary.