Fifty-three lawyers made Notary Public Officers

Accra May 7, GNA - Professor Justice A.K.P Kludze, a Supreme Court Judge on Friday swore into office 53 senior legal practitioners as "Notary Public Officers" at a ceremony in Accra. "Notary Public Officers" are senior legal practitioners, who notorise genuine document to judicial officers and other public officers in and outside Ghana.

They are selected by the Judicial Service and approved by the Ghana Bar Association.

Prof. Justice Kludze urged the lawyers to use their offices to de-mystify the law to the public.

"You must discharge your duties in a manner that would be re-assuring to the general population, especially those not tutored in the nuances of the law, that the law is an instrument for social justice and is at the service of the people", he said.

He however, asked them not to misuse their offices by lending credibility to documents or processes whose genuineness they would doubt.

"If you fail to promote and extend the respect and authority that your notarised documents command abroad, you cause an irreparable damage to the reputation of our country and you undermine the high pedestal on which notaries public are placed," he told the officers.

Prof. Justice Kludze advised the officers not to indulge in any conduct that might cast doubt on the administration of justice or bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

He reminded the officers that the Supreme Court had jurisdiction under Notaries Public Act to suspend officers from practising if there was a reasonable cause for such disciplinary action.

"In a serious case, the Supreme Court may even order that the name of the notary be struck off the Roll of Notaries Public maintained by the Judicial Secretary," he added.