The raison d'être of the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts as a mechanism for the regulation and the discipline of the notarial profession in Malta

Abstract

Notaries under Maltese Law are entrusted with a set of responsibilities that arise because said professionals are deemed to be public officials. Just like any other public official, they must maintain the trust and public faith that is embodied in their profession. Such maintenance comes about by the Notary adhering to certain formalities, procedures and duties that are imposed upon them by the law. Although there are laws that lay out said formalities and procedures, this does not always mean that they are followed. Hence, that is why certain disciplinary systems were adopted in the past to keep any defying notaries in check and reduce any form of abuse administered. The main topic of this professional report is based on the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts and the disciplinary action it may take against an abusing notary. One of the reasons behind this choice of topic is due to the lack of knowledge and understanding from the public on how easily a notary can be held liable for discipline simply and solely by this disciplinary authority. This professional report aims to contribute to the notarial academic field, as there is little recent study on the subject matter – that is on the Court of Revision and its power to discipline the defiant notary. Throughout this professional report, the research question “To what extent and how is a notary disciplined by the authoritative body of the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts?” is tackled and analysed. Beginning with Chapter 1 of this report, the author briefly discusses the prominent role of a notary in society. To enunciate such prominence further, an assessment on the numerous responsibilities that a notary is continuously burdened with due to the status of said profession is conducted. Chapter 2 shifts the focus of the report onto the disciplinary authorities set up by the law, wherein the focus is that of the Court of Revision. The author took the opportunity to delve deeper in discussing the Court of Revision and pinpointing every function granted to said Court of Revision. Lastly, Chapter 3 closes off with an in-depth analysis which determines what forms of disciplinary action a notary can be liable to endure, as a result of breaching certain formalities. This report is based on a combination of both primary sources as well as secondary sources. As a primary source, the author mainly made use of Maltese Legislation, including Chapter 55, as well as the Criminal Code, Civil Code and Duty on Documents and Transfers Act and so on. Whereas in the case of secondary legislation, it mainly consisted of dissertations, thesis and even other professional reports submitted by fellow academics. With such sources, the author was able to build upon and go in further depth on the abovementioned subject matter.