Chief Justice warns notaries public against false endorsement
The Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Theodore Wood on Friday warned notaries public not to endorse documents of people they have not verified.
She said: “As qualified people, who have been trained in the law you must exhibit high moral integrity and diligence in the performance of your duties”.
The Chief Justice stated in a speech read on her behalf by Mrs Rose Owusu, Justice of the Supreme Court at the swearing-in of 23 new notaries public in Accra.
Mrs Justice Wood urged the notaries public to maintain a registry of all the notorial acts they performed since this would serve as the record of their activities.
She said notaries public had been invested with authority to sign important documents and affix notary seal and as such must determine the identity of the person requesting for the notorial act.
She said notaries public were to notify the Judicial Secretary of any name or address changes in order for them to amend the records accordingly.
Mrs Justice Wood also urged the lawyers to exercise due diligence in the performance of their duties, adding that failure to exhibit this skill could lead to unpleasant consequences for the notary public.
She said the Supreme Court was empowered under section 4 of the Notaries Public Act, 1960 for reasonable cause to suspend a notary public from practicing or order his name to be struck out from the roll of notaries.
She also reminded them that any notary public, who willfully certified or propounded any false document with the intent to deceive, conceal, withhold or prevent any fact pertinent to the subject, would be guilty of a misdemeanor.
“I believe you are now aware of the onerous responsibilities and obligations that you now assuming as notaries public,” she added.
Mrs Marietta Brew Appiah Oppong, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, also charged the fresh notaries public to exercise high professional and ethical standards in the discharge of their duties.
She said the legal profession had come under a lot of unfavourable scrutiny because of the misdeed of a few bad nuts whose unethical practices and lack of integrity in professional dealings, had gone to re-enforce existing prejudice about lawyers.
“As notaries public, your powers of notarization and certification are key to the commercial, diplomatic and legal integrity of all the transactions that you vouch for,” she added
She urged the lawyers to be living examples of the dignity of the legal profession, whose origins were ecclesiastical and religious.
The fresh notaries public, who were taken through the oath, include Joe Attipoe, Reverend Father Joseph Adu-Owusu Agyeman, Joseph Simple To-Irsiilo, Abla M. Masoperh, Nana Ama Boama Dowuona, Dzidzorm Aurelius Awuku and Theophilus Codjoe.
The others were Akyaa Akua Afreh Arhin, Vincent Garr, Kwame Ntow-Fiako, Kwasi Anokye Gyimah, Natasha Maureen Donkor, Livingstone Antonio Dey, Sam Bannerman-Wood and Osei Yaw Osafo.
The rest were James A.K. Abban, Kwame Osei-Prempeh, Afoko Amoak, Yaw adjei Afriyie Nketia, Alex Bernasko, Oladele KwakuAribike, Helen Akpene Awosiwu and Sylvia Ama Adusu.
Source: GNA