DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS  [S.L.55.02 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 55.02
DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS 
REGULATIONS
1st March, 2004
LEGAL NOTICE 86 of 2004.
Title. 
Notarial Acts Regulations.
Enemy or counter-
enemy action.
2. Where, as the result of enemy or counter-enemy action or
for any other reason whatsoever, any original Notarial Acts, or any
registers of acts preserved in the Notarial Archives established in
Malta or in Gozo, have been lost, destroyed or so damaged as to
make easy reference thereto impracticable or impossible, the
following provisions shall have effect.
Keeper of Notarial 
Archives.
3. (1) It shall be the duty of the Keeper of Notarial Archives
in Malta or in Gozo, as the case may be, hereinafter referred to as
"the Keeper of Notarial Archives", to prepare a duplicate register of
all original acts deposited in the Archives of Malta or of Gozo, lost,
destroyed or damaged as aforesaid, and a new register of all such
original acts where the original register has been so lost, destroyed
or damaged.
Cap. 55.
(2) (i) The duplicate register referred to in subregulation (1)
shall be compiled by reference to the register prepared by a Notary
in accordance with the Notarial Profession and Notarial Archives
Act or, as the case may be, in accordance with the relevant law or
practice prevailing from time to time before the enactment of that
Act.
(ii) The new register referred to in subregulation (1) shall
be compiled by reference to the original acts.
(iii) Where both the original acts and the original registers
are lost, destroyed or damaged as aforesaid, the duplicate register
and the new register shall be compiled by reference to any copy or
copies of the original acts, authenticated in accordance with the
provisions of the aforesaid Act or preceding law or practice by the
Notary who issued that copy or those copies, that may be available
in the possession of any person, or, in default of any known such
authenticated copy, by reference to any copy or copies even if not
authenticated and, if necessary, by reference to any notes available:
Provided that in every such case the Keeper of Notarial
Archives shall record in writing at the foot of each copy so made of
a deed, the source or sources of that copy and any relevant details
relating thereto:
Provided further that where a complete duplicate register is
compiled from one original register, it shall be sufficient for the
Keeper of Notarial Archives to make a signed declaration at the end
of each duplicate register that such register has been collated with
the relative original register.
2 [S.L.55.02 DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS 
(3) The aforementioned duplicate register shall be made either
by means of photocopying or by microfilming or by electronic
means, or by such other means as will give a clear permanent copy
of the registers, original acts or copies referred to in subregulation
(2)(i), (ii) and (iii) as the case may be.
(4) The Keeper of Notarial Archives may cause one or more
volumes of the original register or of the original acts to be
included in one volume of the duplicate register or of the new
register or to subdivide any volume of the original register or of the
original acts into two or more volumes of the duplicate register or
of the new register, provided that in no case shall any one volume
of the duplicate register or of the new register contain more than
seven hundred and fifty pages.
Persons in 
possession of 
registers.
4. (1) Every Keeper or person in possession of a register or of
any authenticated copy or copies or of other copies or of notes from
which the duplicate register or, as the case may be, the new register
can be compiled shall, on the demand of the Keeper of the Notarial
Archives, grant all necessary facilities to enable the Keeper to
prepare such duplicate register or new register.
(2) The Keeper of the Notarial Archives shall be empowered to
request any possessor or Keeper of the registers or copies or notes
referred to in subregulation (1) to give him temporary possession of
any such registers or documents for the purposes of compiling the
duplicate register and to retain such registers or documents in the
Notarial Archives for such time as is required for the compilation
of the duplicate register and the collation thereof provided that the
Keeper of Notarial Archives shall issue to such possessor or keeper
a receipt for any such register or documents, which receipt shall be
returned to the Keeper of the Notarial Archives on the return of
such register or documents to the keeper or possessor provided
further that such register or documents shall be delivered to the
Keeper of Notarial Archives in a good state of repair and so
returned by him.
(3) Until such time as the aforesaid registers or documents are
in the possession of the Keeper of the Notarial Archives he shall
take due care of them in the manner prescribed in the principal law
as regards original acts or registers deposited in the Archives.
(4) The expenses involved for the compilation of the said
duplicate registers including transportation of the registers or
documents referred to in subregulation (1) and the binding of such
duplicate registers, shall be a charge on the public fund; for such
purposes provision therefor shall be made in the estimates under
the Office of the Notary to Government.
(5) No remuneration or other payment shall be due to the
possessor or keeper of the registers or documents referred to in
subregulation (1) for the temporary use of such registers or
documents by the Keeper of Notarial Archives for the purposes of
compiling the duplicate registers.
Authentication of 
registers.
5. (1) The Duplicate Register or new registers prepared in
accordance with these regulations shall be authenticated by the
DUPLICATE REGISTER OF NOTARIAL ACTS  [S.L.55.02 3
Keeper of the Notarial Archives or by such other officer not below
the grade of Notary to Government delegated by him for such
purpose, and such person authenticating the duplicate registers or
new registers shall ensure that these are in conformity with the
original registers or original acts or documents referred to in
regulation 3(2)(i), (ii) and (iii).
(2) Such authentication shall be effected by means of a signed
declaration at the end of each volume in which declaration
reference shall be made to the sources from which the duplicate
register or the new register has been compiled.
Refusal by any 
person to abide by 
these regulations.
Cap. 55.
6. Any person who without reasonable and justified cause
refuses to comply with the provisions of regulation 4(1) and (2)
shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (ammenda) not exceeding
five hundred liri (Lm500) to be imposed by the Court of Revision
of Notarial Acts established under the Notarial Profession and
Notarial Archives Act, composed of one of the Visitors of Notarial
Acts, and in inflicting such fine the said Court may give such
orders as it may deem necessary to enable the Keeper of Notarial
Archives to prepare the duplicate register or the new register, and,
without prejudice to the making of any such order, the Court may,
on the application of the Keeper of Notarial Archives, sub-poena
any person to deliver to the Keeper of Notarial Archives any
registers or acts or copies of, or extracts from, acts, and, should
such sub-poena be disregarded, it may order the seizure of the
registers or the acts or copies of, or extracts from, acts mentioned
in the sub-poena:
Provided that in any such case where the Court of Revision
of Notarial Acts is not competent in the matter, the same powers
shall be exercised by the Court of Magistrates (Malta) or the Court
of Magistrates (Gozo) sitting as a Court of Criminal Judicature.
