An Opposition motion to amend a legal notice which allows for the electronic revocation of powers of attorney and other mandates was defeated in parliament this evening. 

The Opposition has called for a division which would be taken on Wednesday week.

Opposition spokesman Jason Azzopardi acknowledged that the legal notice was intended to simplify matters for those who make use of such legal instruments on a daily basis, but pointed out a conflict between the new provisions and existing ones in the Electronic Commerce Act.

Justice Minister Owen Bonnici said that those wishing to revoke a power of attorney previously had to pay no less than €1,500 for an official to be presented in court by a lawyer. The new measures allowed for an alternative process that would cost the client a nominal fee of €50 – a service from which 45 citizens had already benefitted, he said. 

Dr Azzopardi said that the Opposition agreed that the prohibitive cost of the procedure meant such legislation was needed. However, he criticised Minister Bonnici for the way in which it had been introduced.

Dr Bonnici accused the Opposition of not having read the legal notice and of basing its position on the “faulty information” published by the Malta IT Law Association (MITLA).

Applications still had to be signed in person at the Office of the Notary to Government, where an office representative had to sign and stamp the form. Payment also needed to be made in person, as, by design, the legal notice did not provide for an online method of effecting payment. These requirements were explicitly provided for in the tabled document, he said.

The Opposition then criticised the Government for presenting the new procedure as a means by which powers of attorney could be revoked electronically.