Cap. 55 ст. 14When a notary ceases to exercise his functions.

(1) A notary shall cease from exercising his functions:

(a) if he accepts a government employment, or is in full-time employment, or else if he exercises a profession or assumes any office incompatible with the office of notary:

Provided that a notary who accepts an appointment to act as Chief Notary to Government or Notary to

Government or Notary employed with any Government

Ministry or Department or Notary Public with the Lands

Authority or Notary Public with the Housing Authority, under the provisions of article 22(5), or Notary Public with any other Government Authority or Agency, for a continuous period not exceeding three months, may continue to exercise his functions as a Notary Public: Provided also that a notary who is in full-time employment before the 27th July, 2021 shall have until 1st June, 2024 in order to regularise his position in accordance with this sub-article. Notarial acts received and drawn up by a notary who is in full-time employment before 1st June, 2024 shall be considered valid;

(b) if he is permanently absent from Malta for a continuous period exceeding five years or fails to publish any act for a period of seven consecutive years preceding the current basis year of review, to be ascertained annually, from the basis year of review 2021. The assigned Review Officer shall ascertain this fact during the period of review, and shall upon request, be given any relevant information by the notary himself or the Office of the Notary to Government or the Notarial Council. The review officer, shall, by application, report the matter to the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts and the Court shall, if satisfied that the facts subsist, decree that the said notary has ceased to exercise his functions and shall order the notary to bind and consign any original acts still in his possession to the Review Officer within a time so established in its decree, failing which the penalties under article 94A(18)(a) shall apply mutatis mutandis, and the said Court shall appoint a Notary Keeper, where it deems expedient to do so. The Court shall cause the said decree to be served on the notary, at the address registered with the Notarial Council, or if residing abroad, by electronic mail to the last electronic address registered with the Notarial Council, on the Attorney General, the Chief Notary to Government and the President of the Notarial Council, and the mentioned decree shall be published in the Gazette. Subsequent to this publication, the Chief Notary to Government shall cause the name of the said notary to be listed with the names of notaries not exercising their functions, which list shall be kept by the Chief Notary to Government and published in the same manner as the list under article 4.

(c) if he is interdicted under the provisions of the Criminal Code;

(d) if he resigns his office and presents his resignation in writing to the President of Malta provided that the Notary may indicate that his resignation is temporary, in which case the provisions of paragraph (b) and article 2 will still apply;

(e) if he is removed from his office in terms of articles 138 and 139;

(f) if he is removed from his office by the President of Malta following a sentence by any competent tribunal for theft, fraud or any crime against public faith;

(g) shall if he is incapacitated by the President of Malta with the advice of the Board appointed as provided in article 7, on account of illness, blindness, deafness or other cause which renders the notary unfit for the performance of his duties: Provided that where the cause is not such as to render the notary also incapable of keeping acts or of giving out copies thereof, it shall be lawful to restrain the notary only for receiving acts;

(h) if he assumes an appointment as a Government Minister or Parliamentary Secretary, provided that in such cases said cessation shall be deemed to be temporary and in such cases the provisions of paragraph (b) shall not apply, and the said Notary shall immediately be rehabilitated upon cessation of his duties as Minister or Parliamentary Secretary, upon a notice to this effect appearing in the Gazette.

(2) Where the cause for which any notary has ceased from the exercise of his functions is merely temporary, such notary may, on the cessation of such cause, be rehabilitated by the President of Malta upon the advice of the Board referred to in article 7 which shall ascertain that the notary is adequately proficient, up-to-date and qualified to resume the exercise of all the powers and functions of a Notary Public.

(3) The notary who accepts the office of Chief Notary to Government, Notary to Government, Notary in full-time employment with a Government Ministry or Department or Authority, Notary Public with the Lands Authority, Notary Public with the Housing Authority, the office of Director or Assistant Director of the Public Registry or Land Registrar or Assistant Land Registrar, or a notary who is in full-time employment with a commercial lending bank or similar financial institution or entity, or with any Government agency or limited liability company or any other entity, where the Government of Malta is either the beneficial owner or has a controlling interest therein, or in any other case where any notary continues to carry out, in the regular exercise of his office or employment, any one of the powers and functions listed in article 2, shall not during the tenure of such office or employment, cease from the exercise of the functions of notary: Provided that, any notary falling within the scope of this sub-article may not practise as a notary except in the capacity as stated in this sub-article, and shall not therefore, during the tenure of such office, cease from the exercise of the functions of notary, but only in so far as such functions relate to the execution and custody of deeds to which the Government or any corporate body established by law is a party, and the issue of copies or extracts from such deeds.

(4) In any case where a notary ceases to exercise his functions in terms of this sub-article, the Court shall decree that the said notary has ceased to exercise his functions and shall order the notary to bind and consign any original acts still in his possession to the Review Officer assigned to him for the current year of review, within a time so established in its decree, failing which, the penalties under article 94A(18)(a) shall apply mutatis mutandis. The Court shall also appoint a Notary Keeper. The Court shall cause the said decree to be served on the notary, on the Attorney General, the Chief Notary to Government and the President of the Notarial Council and the said decree shall be published in the Government Gazette in the manner established in paragraph (b).

(5) Subsequently to this publication, the Chief Notary to Government shall cause the name of the said notary to be listed with the names of notaries not exercising their function, which list shall be kept by the Chief Notary to Government and published in the same manner as the list under article 4.