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GOVERNANCE OF THE SOVEREIGN MILITARY ORDER OF MALTA

The Sovereign Military Order of Malta is governed by the Grand Master together with Sovereign Council and the Chapter General. The Sovereign Council is presided by the Grand Master and includes all of the High Officers of the Order. The supreme assembly of the Order is the General Chapter.
 
There are various governing entities of the Order such as the Governing Council which is a deliberative body whose role is to make recommendations to the members of the Sovereign Council and the Council Complete of State whose function is to elect the Grand Master. The Order also has its own courts of law and a Board of Auditors.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Grand Master
Sovereign Council
Chapter General
Council Complete of State
Magisterial Courts and the Consultative Juridical Council
Board of Auditors


Grand Master

Fra’ Mathew Festing is the 79th Grand Master of the Order. He was elected in 2008. The Grand Master is the supreme head and religious superior of the Order and, together with the Sovereign Council, is responsible for the day to day governance of the Order.

The Grand Master is elected for life by the Council Complete of State. Until the modifications of 1998 to the Order’s constitution, the election of the Grand Master had to be confirmed by the Holy Father; now, his election is merely notified to the Pope. The Grand Master must be elected from amongst the Professed Knights with Perpetual Vows and must meet the requirements for nobility set forth for Knights of Honour and Devotion.

The Grand Master is vested with sovereign honours and is accordingly referred to as Highness, and as successor to the sovereigns of Rhodes and of Malta, is considered a Prince. Moreover, the Grand Master holds the rank of cardinal in the Church and is styled as Eminence. Accordingly, he is addressed as His Most Eminent Highness the Prince and Grand Master. His full title in Latin is Dei gratia Sacrae Domus Hospitalis Sancti Johannis Hierosolymitani et militaris Ordinis Sancti Sepurcri Dominici magister humis pauperumque Jesu Chrisit custos, which translated into English is "By the Grace of God, Grand Master of the Hospitallary House of St. John of Jerusalem and of the Military Order of the Holy Sepulcher of our Lord and Protector of poor of Jesus Christ on Earth."

Sovereign Council

The Sovereign Council, together with the Grand Master, is charged with the day to day governance of the Order. The Sovereign Council is comprised of the Grand Master, who presides, the four High Officers of the Order and six councillors. The four High Officers are the Grand Commander, the Grand Chancellor, the Grand Hospitaller and the Receiver of the Common Treasurer.
 
The four High Officers and the six councillors are elected to five year terms by the General Chapter. They are eligible for reelection, but in the case of a third successive term, must be elected with a two-thirds majority vote. The Grand Master does not generally vote on matters before the Sovereign Council, but may cast a deciding vote in the case of tie votes.
 
The Grand Commander and at least four other members must be Professed Knights with either Temporary or Perpetual Vows. Only Knights of Justice may vote for members of the Sovereign Council who are required to be Professed Knights.

Grand Commander. The Grand Commander is charged with assisting the Grand Master with the religious observance by the Order and the supervision of the Priories and Sub-Priories of the Order and the members of the first and second classes (Knights of Justice and Knight and Dames of Obedience). In the event of the resignation, death or other incapacity of the Grand Master, he assumes the duties of Grand Master in his capacity as Lieutenants of the Grand Master ad interim.

Grand Chancellor. The Grand Chancellor is charged with the daily administration of the Order, with the supervision of the Order’s foreign relations and with the active and passive representation of the Order before third parties. Accordingly, he drafts and issues the governmental decrees, recommends to the Grand Master the persons for appointment as head of diplomatic missions and the Secretary General in charge of foreign relations.

Grand Hospitaller. The Grand Hospitaller is charged with promoting, coordinating and supervising on the charitable works of the Order, its priories and national associations and its dependant agencies. He is responsible to assure that the pastoral directives of the Prelate of the Order are followed.

Receiver of the Common Treasure. The Receiver of the Common Treasure administers the Order’s assets together with the Grand Chancellor under the supervision of the Board of Auditors. He is charged with the preparation of financial statements, the supervision of the postal service and the security for the Order’s properties.

The members of the Sovereign Council are:

Grand Commander

H.E. the Venerable Bailiff
Fra’ Giacomo DALLA TORRE del TEMPIO di SANGUINETTO

Grand Chancellor

H.E. Jean Pierre de Mazery
Grand Cross of Grace and Devotion in Obedience


Grand Hospitaller

H.E. Baron Albrecht von Boeselager
Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience


Treasurer

H.E. Marquis Gian Luca Chiavari
Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion in Obedience


Counsellors

H.E. Fra’ Gherardo HERCOLANI FAVA SIMONETTI
H.E. Fra’ John A. MacPHERSON
H.E. Fra’ Elie de COMMINGES
H.E. Fra' Carlo d'IPPOLITO di SANT'IPPOLITO
H.E. Antonio R. SANCHEZ-COREA, Jr.
H.E. Winfried HENCKEL von DONNERSMARCK

Chapter General

The Chapter General is the supreme assembly of the Order and is comprised of representatives of all three classes. It is convened (i) every five years, (ii) upon the order of the Grand Master, after having heard the opinion of the Sovereign Council or (iii) upon the order of the Grand Master after having received a request by a majority of the priories, sub-priories and national associations. Its function is to elect the members of the Sovereign Council (other than the Grand Master) and of the Board of Auditors, to consider and vote upon changes to the Constitution and Code of the Order and to consider and deal with the temporal and spiritual issues facing the Order.

The Chapter General is comprised of (i) the Grand Master, (ii) the other members of the Sovereign Council, (iii) the Prelate of the Order, (iv) each of the Priors, (v) the Professed Bailiffs, (vi) two Knights of Justice (one of which can be substituted by a Knight of Obedience) representing each of the Priories, (vii) one Knight of Justice and one Knight of Obedience representing those in Gremio Religionis, (viii) each of the Regents of the Sub-Priories, (ix) fifteen representatives of the national associations, and (x) the six members of the Governing Council.


Council Complete of State

The sole function of the Council Complete of State is the election of the Grand Master or of the Lieutenant of the Grand Master. The Council Complete of State is comprised of (i) Lieutenant or Lieutenant ad interim of the Grand Master, (ii) the other members of the Sovereign Council, (iii) the Prelate of the Order, (iv) each of the Priors, (v) the Professed Bailiffs, (vi) two Knights of Justice representing each of the Priories, (vii) one Knight of Justice and one Knight of Obedience representing those in Gremio Religionis, (viii) each of the Regents of the Sub-Priories, and (ix) fifteen representatives of the national associations.
 
The members of the Council Complete of State who are Knights of Justice are entitled to present a slate of three persons from amongst whom the Council elects the Grand Master by a vote of simple majority plus one.

Magisterial Courts and the Consultative Juridical Council

The Order has its own courts of first instance and of appeal which have jurisdiction regarding non-religious disputes amongst the members and organizations of the Order. Disputes of a religious nature are within the competence of the ecclesiastical courts of the ordinaries as provided in the Code of Cannon Law.
 
The Grand Master, with the prior consent of the Sovereign Council, appoints the President, judges and chancellor of the Magisterial Courts. Judges are appointed for terms of three years and may be reappointed indefinitely.

The Consultative Juridical Council is a technical consultative collegiate body of the Order which must be consulted on juridical questions and problems of special interest and importance to the Order. It is comprised of a President, Vice-President, Secretary General and four other members.
 
They are appointed by the Grand Master, with the prior consent of the Sovereign Council, from amongst those members of the Order who have a special competence in Catholic doctrine and in national and international law. They are appointed for terms of three years and may be reappointed indefinitely.


Board of Auditors

The Board of Auditors oversees and controls the income and expenditures of the Order. It is comprised of a Presidente and two permanent and two alternate Councillors. The Board of Auditors are elected by the General Chapter for a term of five years. They may be reelected for one additional term of five years provided they receive two-thirds of the votes cast.