notary public

A notary public is an officer who can administer and give oaths, and perform certain other acts varying from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

History

The office of notary dates back to the Roman Empire. Prior to the enactment of the Ecclesiastical Licences Act 1533 (UK), the appointment of notaries lay with the Pope. The Pope delegated his powers of appointment to his legate, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was through a licence or faculty granted by the Archbishop in the exercise of his legatine powers that a notary received the right to practise. After the passage of the 1533 Act, which was a direct result of the Reformation in England, all notary appointments were issued directly through the Court of Faculties. The Court of Faculties is attached to the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Common law jurisdictions

A notary in some common law jurisdictions is a qualified lawyer. Traditionally, notaries recorded matters of judicial importance as well as private transactions or events where an officially authenticated record or a document drawn up with professional skill or knowledge was required. Specifically, the functions of notaries include the attestation of documents and certification of their due execution, administering of oaths, witnessing affidavits and statutory declarations, certification of copy documents, noting and protesting of bills of exchange and the preparation of ships' protests.

Significant weight attaches to documents certified by notaries. Documents certified by notaries are sealed with the notary's seal and are recorded by the notary in a register maintained by him/her. These are known as "notarial acts". Notarial acts and certificates are recognised in countries of the British Commonwealth and some other countries without the need for any further certification from the respective Foreign Ministry or foreign diplomatic missions. (In countries subscribing to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents only one further act of certification is required, known as an apostille).

Notaries in England

In England there are three classes of notaries. Scrivener notaries, who get their name from the Scriveners' Company, are the only notaries permitted to practise in the City of London. Due to their geographical proximity to many civil law countries, scrivener notaries are only appointed after five years articles to a practising notary. Scrivener notaries must be fluent in one or two foreign languages and be familiar with the principles and practice of foreign law.

The other two classes of notaries in England are qualified solicitors who only practise outside the City and non-legally qualified persons who satisfy the Master of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury that they possess an adequate understanding of the law. Both the latter two categories are required to pass examinations set by the Master of Faculties.

United States

In the United States, generally speaking, a notary public is a public official appointed by the government to serve the public as an impartial witness. Usually individuals need no special training to obtain a notary public license, they must only pass a simple test, have some form of background check or obtain a bond or insurance to insure their integrity. In the United States, a non-attorney notary may not offer you legal advice, may not prepare documents for you, and cannot recommend how you should sign something or even what type of notarization is necessary.

Each state in the United States has different requirements for becoming a notary public. In some states, an appointment by the legislature may be necessary.

Some states required that a notary be a citizen of the United States. The Supreme Court of the United States declared that to be impermissible in the case of Bernal v. Fainter 467 U.S. 216 (1984).

Civil Law jurisdictions

The role undertaken by notaries in civil law countries is much greater than in common law countries. Notaries in the former countries frequently undertake work done in common law countries by the Titles Office and other Government agencies. The qualifications imposed by some countries is much greater. In Greece, for example, a practitioner must choose to be either a solicitor or a notary. This should be contrasted with the Latin American notario who may be similar to an attorney at law or lawyer. A French notaire and a German Notar register wills and other documents, and authenticates transactions of real estate. In the few United States jurisdictions where trained notaries are allowed (such as Puerto Rico), the practice of these jurists is limited to non-judicial legal advice, property conveyencing and legal drafting.

This article by Wikipedia authors is licensed under the GNU FDL.