By means of a legal notice the government has set up a new agency that brings the departments responsible for passports, identity cards, work and residence permits for expats, the Land and Public registries and acts of civil status under one roof.

The ‘Identity Malta Agency’ falls under the responsibility of the Home Affairs Ministry.

The legal notice was published a few days ago, but the Notarial Council was not notified, let alone consulted, about this new agency which will handle sensitive information.

So far the Notarial Council has not had time to discuss the issue, but its president, speaking on his personal behalf, expressed disappointment at the fact that the government did not ask the council for its opinion

Notary Dr Clinton Bellizzi said that, last year the Council was going to start discussing the possibility of amalgamating the Public Registry and the Lands Registry with the previous administration, but what was being planned is nowhere near what has been done by the Labour government.

“This is news to us as much as it is to you,” Dr Bellizzi said when contacted, insisting that the two-and-a-half page document did not give a clear picture about the reason why this agency was set up.

The Legal Notice is, in fact, short and sweet. It states that the agency will be named ‘Identity Malta’ and that it will fall under the remit of Home Affairs Minister Manuel Mallia. The aim of the agency is to “execute the functions and duties of the public administration in matters relating to passports, identity documents, work and residence permits for expatriates, land registration and registration of public deeds, acts of civil status and individual investment programmes".

‘Identity Malta’ will be headed by an Executive Chairperson who shall perform the functions and duties of the Chief Executive Officer.

Dr Clinton Bellizzi said that the lack of details was very worrying. “The Notarial Council never discussed with any administration the possibility of bringing all these departments, which handle very sensitive personal information, under one roof. And we do not know what type of data will be collected and used by it.”

Dr Bellizzi said there were a million questions that needed to be answered. “Who will be involved in the agency? What are its terms of reference? Why did the Government not consult? And why was the agency set up in the first place?”

The Home Affairs Ministry, led by Minister Manuel Mallia, should provide the answers to these questions, Dr Bellizzi said. He also insisted that the agency should be set up with the necessary safeguards, in order to prevent abuse. “How could a two-and-a-half page document provide the necessary safeguards?” he asked.

As a notary, Dr Bellizzi is concerned about how this agency could affect the Land and Public Registries. “These are our bread and butter, and we were not consulted by the government.”

“If the agency was set up to simplify the administrative processes within these departments, then we’re all for it,” Dr Bellizzi said. However he insisted that, up till now everyone is in the dark about the matter.