The notarial archives in Valletta have embarked on a project to digitise the massive collection of volumes – which take up 15 kilometres of shelving – in order to protect them from wear and tear and safeguard their contents if some tragedy were to befall the premises.
As required by law, there are two archives, both in Valletta: the main one on M. A. Vassalli Street, which houses all original documents, and a secondary one in St Christopher Street, which holds copies of the originals as a precaution.
While notaries have to submit all originals of wills and public deeds to the main archive by the end of each year, not all hand in copies to the archives on St Christopher Street, Dr German told The Sunday Times of Malta.
This is because notaries can keep true copies at their offices throughout their practice. If they retire, die or lose their warrant, those true copies have to be passed on to the Chief Notary or another practising notary. While this practice has been going on for years, Dr German believes that times and resources have changed, and that the keeping of the register – a word used for the true copies of the original – should be eliminated.
He is currently in discussion with the Notarial Council on the possibility of having a digitised copy of the original rather than a physical true copy.
Besides hedging against some disaster, digitisation of the originals will not only save them from wear and tear but also save the archives’ storage space as they could be kept elsewhere: their physical presence there will no longer be necessary.
Meanwhile, the premises in St Christopher Street, where true copies are held, are currently going through a €5 million EU-funded rehabilitation.
At the moment, the volumes are being disinfected while some are being taken for urgent conservation. They will all be moved to a storage facility when the internal alterations get underway.
At the main archives on M. A. Vassalli Street, scanners have been purchased through separate funds to start digitising the documents – consisting of some 90 million pages and counting – and make them available online. The archives have issued an expression of interest for the scanning and cataloguing of the documents.
Dr German hopes that the first documents will be online by September or October. However, this will depend on the available human resources.
Have notaries always submitted original documents as required by law?
When a reader recently requested some wills from the notarial archives he was told that there was a period when it was not obligatory for notaries to file the documents at the archives.
He was instead referred to the notary who drew up the will. But it has already taken the notary 18 months to accommodate the request. Rightly so, the reader questioned what would happen if notaries’ premises holding these documents were destroyed in some fire. “The law obliging notaries to submit the original document has always been in place but unfortunately there has not always been a proper enforcement setup,” Dr German said.
So the Court of Revision of Notarial Acts has in recent years been strengthened: since 2012 notaries have been chased by reviewers who ensure that not only is everything in order with the document but that originals are handed over to the archives.
If notaries do not comply, they could be suspended, lose their warrant or pay a fine, he said.
The Chief Notary’s office has committed itself to collect all wills and deeds within the next five years, Dr German added.
In the meantime, people who were still waiting for their notary to provide a copy, as the archives did not have the original, could contact the Notarial Council. Dr German expressed concern about the bad impression that some had about notaries in general because of a handful of defaulting ones.
He also warned people to make sure they understood the content of all documents they signed, and to ensure they received a true copy of the contract and keep record of any duty tax they paid.