Justice Dotse urges Notaries Public to execute their responsibilities properly or face the law

Notaries Public have been urged to perform their duties with high integrity and moral standards in order to reduce the number complaints that are received about them as the disciplinary committee of the general legal council is overwhelmed with the complaints.

Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Jones Dotse who made this call at the swearing in of 25 new Notaries Public on Wednesday, entreated them to bring to bear the experience they have gathered over the years in their profession as lawyers and officers of the courts in Ghana.

The Notaries Public Act, 1960 (Act 26) empowers the Chief Justice to appoint any person whom she considers fit and proper to discharge the duties assigned to be a Notary Public. Lawyers of high moral character and proven integrity with not less than fifteen years standing as a lawyer are the ones qualified for the job.

Notaries Public are officers of the law whose duty is to attest and authenticate deeds, contracts and other instruments to be used abroad with his signature and official seal which is accepted in all countries where notary acts are recognized as proof of the acts done in his presence and attested by him

Justice Dotse reminded the new Notaries Public that as sworn public officials, they play an important role in the “prevention of fraud and protection of the parties involved by acting as official unbiased witnesses in respect of some documents”.

He further warned that anyone of them “who wilfully certifies or propounds any false statement or document or fraudulently and with intent to deceive, conceals, withholds or prevents any fact or document pertinent to the subject of a notary act commits a misdemeanour under section 8 of the Act”.

He instructed them not to abuse the trust of the nation in them to prevent being suspended as the Supreme Court is empowered to order for their names to be struck out of the Notaries Public.

He advised them not to notarise a signature of a person who has not appeared before them as it is their responsibility to ascertain the identity of the person requesting a notary act. He also asked them to maintain a register of all notary acts they perform to serve as a record.