Some 365 parliamentary questions – 165 oral and 200 written – are on the 70-page agenda of today’s sitting of the House of Representatives – the first after the summer recess. Among the 200 vying for a written answer, four are by Opposition Leader Joseph Muscat put to the Prime Minister.
Dr Gonzi will move the first reading of the Ġieħ ir-Repubblika Bill while Finance Minister Tonio Fenech will move the Participation and Guarantees under the European Financial Stability Facility (Amendment) Bill.
The House is expected to approve two other motions moved by Foreign Minister Tonio Borg. One provides that Carmelo Abela substitutes Anġlu Farrugia as one of the Labour members in the parliamentary delegation to the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly which will be held in Dubrovnik between October 7 and 10. The other provides that Anthony Zammit (PL) attends the Berne meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) between October 16 and 19.
Mr Fenech will introduce the debate on the second reading of the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives Bill, which provides safeguards to members of the public who use the services of a notary.
The government says that together with the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts, the Notarial Council is being given a pivotal role in the collection of notarial acts, their review, inspection and deposit in the Notarial Archives. The council will have various self-regulatory powers over members of the profession.
The Bill also introduces precautionary measures to ensure that a notary who does not preserve notarial acts in terms of law, and fails to comply within a reasonable time, will be partially incapacitated from the exercise of his functions and, should he persist, be deprived of office.
It further protects the public interest by minimising the possibility of notarial acts being null or annulable solely on formal grounds, and by introducing compulsory professional indemnity cover for notaries.
Following recent judgments, the Bill clarifies and regulates certain powers of notaries that are not specifically mentioned in the Act.