Ministry for Justice and Home Affairs

Historical Background

The institution of the Chamber of Procurator (Procuratori and Sollecitatori approvati) finds its origin prior to the promulgation of the Prammatiche by Grand Masters Lascaris (1640) and Caraffa (1681). The earliest mention so far discovered of the profession of Legal Procurator is to be found in the Pandectae et Ordinationes promulgated by Grand Master D'Omedes in 1553, which states that the two professions of Advocate and Procurator had already existed distinctly for a long time.

By Proclamation No. XII, entitled "A Law for the Regulation of Legal Procurators" and promulgated in 1827, the British Colonial Administration in Malta (under Governor Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsomby) made its first endeavour to legislate on the profession of Legal Procurator.

The first statute of the Chamber of Legal Procurators (Camera dei Procuratori Legali) was approved and duly adopted at a general meeting of the Chamber held on the 10th of January, 1880. Following the destruction of the Courts of Justice in Valletta and all of the records of the Chamber through enemy action during the Second World War(1939-45), a new Statute was drawn up and approved by the Chamber on the 22nd of February, 1963. This is now being completely revised to meet present day exigencies.

A Code of Ethics and Conduct for Legal Procurators was drawn up by the Chamber and approved by the Commission for the Administration of Justice under the Constitution of Malta, and given force of law by Legal Notice N. 933 of 1998. The Chamber is represented on the Committee of Advocates and Legal Procurators set up by the said Commission to deal with complaints of breaches of professional conduct by any Legal Procurator.

Role of the Chamber of Legal Procurators

The role of the Chamber of Legal Procurators is to safeguard the rights of its members and to promote such rights, to uphold the honour and dignity of the profession and to ensure that Legal Procurators do not act abusively or negligently or in a manner repugnant to the decorum, dignity and honour of their profession or in a manner as could seriously affect the trust conferred on them.

Role of the Legal Procurator

Legal Procurators are admitted to the practice of the profession by the authority of the President of Malta granted by Warrant under the Public Seal of Malta, as in the case of Advocates. They have to pursue a special course of the rudiments of civil, commercial and criminal law and of the practice of the Maltese Courts.

The principal duties of the Legal Procurator are to assist the Advocates, with whom they are retained, in the proceedings of the cases; to file written pleadings in the Registry of the Courts on behalf of the clients, and to perform generally other services in connection with the preparation of lawsuits by the Advocates.

Legal Procurators are admitted to plead in the Courts of Magistrates and in special Tribunals and Boards and are able to give advice.

Legal Procurators are entitled to the same privileges, and are subject to the same disqualifications, as Advocates.

Contact

All correspondence should be sent by mail to:

The Secretary,
The Chamber of Legal Procurators,
Courts of Justice,
Valletta, Malta.

To view a full List of Members of the Chamber of Procurators, click here.

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