The development of the public registry, especially its contribution to the organisation of the rites of passage

Abstract

The thesis deals with the development of the Public Registry with particular reference to the way the rites of passage, mainly birth, marriage and death were recorded and organised over the time. The recording of the rites of passage is tackled from before the date of the establishment of the Public Registry, in 1821, to date. The desire to render Malta's system of registering the rites of passage more effective, constituted historically, not only the underlying reason for the transfer of the dominion of recording the rites of passage from the Church to the State, but also its subsequent development throughout the years. The law governing the notarial profession, and more particularly, their deeds, was also of fundamental importance in this regard. Chapter 1, by way of introduction, purports to give an outline of the establishment of the Public Registry as one of the most important offices of the state under British rule. Next, in Chapter 2, the reader is taken through a voyage from the 16th down to the 18th century during which the registration of the rites of passage was already being practised. The third chapter goes on to give a rather detailed account of the first legislative attempts at amending the system of registration the rites of passage. The legal development in relation to the Public Registry always moved pari passum with other reforms in the administration of the country. Finally, the last chapter deals with the registration of births, marriages and death subject to changes, in so far as the documents which relate to them are concerned.