The role and duties of a Notary
The role of a notary is not simply to witness documents.
A notary public in England is an officer of the law appointed by the Court. His duty is
- to attest and certify documents for use anywhere in the world
- to authenticate such documents so as to make them acceptable to the authorities in the country where they are to operate.
He does so under his signature and official seal.
The process of authentication lies behind every notarial act. The notary verifies the document act or event as a reliable public officer. He then certifies its truth in a manner which will entitle it to be relied on.
The duties - a notary has to be satisfied about, and to certify various matters including:
- Appearance - that the individual has appeared before him
- Proof of identity
- Capacity - that the person has the mental capacity to enter into the transaction
- Authority - that the Appearer is authorised to enter the transaction, particularly on behalf of a company or corporate entity
- Understanding
- that the appearer understands the literal meaning of the document and
- if appropriate has consulted a lawyer specialising in the foreign law, or the relevant area of the law with which the document is concerned
- Willingness to be bound
- That so far as the law of England and Wales is concerned the document has been correctly executed and is binding.
Independent advice – the English notary, as such, is not qualified to advise on or indeed allowed under the rules of the Notaries Society to advise on the full implications of documents to operate in a foreign country. However, I have access to specialist lawyers abroad, for example Florida and Spain. It may be advisable for you to consult such a lawyer before I notarise the document.
Security - Project tone has been developed by the UK Notaries Society in conjunction with a retired fraud squad officer to produce documents which have the maximum security with a view to avoiding a Notary’s documents being forged. I use this system as a matter of course.