CHAPTER
57
NOTARIES PUBLIC |
ARRANGEMENT OF
SECTIONS |
SECTION |
|
|
Qualifications for licensing as notary public. |
Certain public officers to be ex officio
notaries public. |
Procedure for licensing of nataries public. |
|
The roll of notaries public. |
Notaries public to take oath and to be enrolled. |
Discipline of notaries public. |
Notary public to provide himself with notarial
seal. |
Penalty for unlawfully practising as a notary
public. |
Power to amend Schedules. |
SCHEDULES |
FIRST SCHEDULE. |
SECOND SCHEDULE. |
THIRD SCHEDULE - Oath to be taken by a Notary Public. |
CHAPTER 57 |
NOTARIES PUBLIC |
An Act
relating to Notaries Public. | 9 of 1971
5 of 1972
S.I. 141/1972
3 of 1974
S.I. 43/1975
S.I. 9/1990
S.I. 105/1991
26 of 1993
S.I. 64/1996 |
[Assent 3rd June,
1971]
[Commencement 1st August, 1972] |
1. This Act may be cited as the Notaries Public Act. | Short title. |
2. (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise
requires, the expression- | Interpretation. |
"functions"
includes powers and duties; |
"licence"
means a licence as a notary public under section 5, and grammatical variations
of that expression shall be construed accordingly; |
"Minister"
means the Minister responsible for notaries public. |
(2) Unless the
contrary intention appears, references in this Act to a section are references
to a section of this Act, and references in a section to a subsection are
references to a subsection of that section. |
3. Subject to the provisions of this Act, any of the
following persons may be licensed as a notary public- | Qualifications for licensing as notary public. |
(a) any counsel
and attorney of the Supreme Court; |
(b) any person
who immediately before the commencement of this Act was the holder of a licence
as a notary public under section 3 of the Notaries Public Act (now repealed). |
4. Any person holding or acting in a public office
specified in the First Schedule shall be ex officio a notary
public for The Bahamas and shall be entitled to exercise generally within The
Bahamas all the functions of a notary public licensed under this Act: | Certain public officers to be ex officio
notaries public. |
Provided that all
fees taken by such persons in the exercise of such functions shall be paid by
them into the Consolidated Fund. |
5. (1) Any person desiring to be licensed under this Act
shall make application for the purpose to the Minister in such form accompanied
by such information as the Minister may require. | Procedure for licensing of notaries public. |
(2) The Minister
may, upon payment of the fee prescribed in the Second Schedule, grant
to any person qualified in accordance with section 3 and making application as
mentioned in subsection (1), a licence authorising such person to exercise
either generally within The Bahamas, or within any Out Island district
specified in the licence, the functions exercised by notaries public in The
Bahamas immediately before the commencement of this Act. |
6. (1) Every licence shall take effect on the date
specified in the licence as the date on which it is to take effect and shall
expire on the 31st day of December next following that date, unless renewed. | Duration of licences. |
(2) Every licence
may, if the Minister approves, be renewed by endorsement thereon, upon the
application of the holder thereof and on payment of the fee prescribed in the
Second Schedule. |
(3) Where a
licence has been lost, destroyed or mutilated, it may be replaced by the
Minister by the issue of a copy thereof upon the application of the person
entitled thereto and on the payment of the fee prescribed in the
Second Schedule. |
7. (1) It shall be the duty of the Permanent Secretary
to the Minister to keep, and to amend from time to time as circumstances
require, an alphabetical roll or book of all notaries public licensed under
this Act, which roll or book shall be called the roll of notaries public, and
to enter therein the names and particulars of every such notary public. | The roll of notaries public. |
(2)
Where the signature or seal of a notary public appears or is impressed upon any
document issued by him in the exercise of the functions of a notary public, the
Permanent Secretary may, on payment of the fee prescribed in the
Second Schedule, authenticate or legalise the signature or seal: |
Provided that no
fee is payable in respect of the authentication or legalisation of a signature
or seal appearing or impressed upon a document connected with or relating to
the Crown or a department of the public service of The Bahamas and issued by a
person who is, by virtue of the provisions of section 4, a notary public. |
(3) In the
performance of his functions under this section and under section 8 the
Permanent Secretary shall be assisted by such other public officer or officers
as the Minister may from time to time in writing designate for the purpose. |
8. Before practising as a notary public or performing
any notarial act every person licensed as a notary public shall take and
subscribe an oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule before
the Permanent Secretary to the Minister or an officer designated pursuant to
subsection (2) of section 7, who shall thereupon cause the name of such person
to be enrolled in the roll of notaries public. | Notaries public to take oath and to be enrolled. |
9. (1) No person duly licensed under this Act shall be
deprived of his licence or suspended from the performance of any act whatsoever
appertaining or belonging to his office unless he is found guilty of some
crime, gross misconduct, negligence or unskilfulness by a judge of the Supreme
Court, who shall be competent, upon a complaint made by any person appearing to
him to have a sufficient interest, to hear and determine such complaint in a
summary manner and to exercise in relation to such complaint the powers
mentioned in subsection (2). | Discipline of notaries public. |
(2) Where any
person is found guilty upon a complaint made pursuant to subsection (1) the
judge hearing the complaint may, if in his judgment the circumstances so
warrant, order that the name of such person be struck off the roll of notaries
public or be so struck off for such period as may be specified in the order,
and, where such an order is made, the licence of such person shall be deemed to
be withdrawn, and he shall be disqualified from performing any notarial act
whatsoever, while such order is in force. |
(3) Any order made
by a judge under subsection (2) shall be final and conclusive, and shall not be
subject to any appeal. |
10. Every notary public shall have a seal which he
shall impress upon all documents issued by him in the exercise of the functions
of a notary public, and such seal shall be approved by the Minister. | Notary public to provide himself with notarial seal. |
11. (1) Subject to the provisions of section 4, any
person who- | Penalty for unlawfully practising as a notary public. |
(a) practises
as a notary public or performs any notarial act without having taken and
subscribed an oath as required by section 8; or |
(b) holds
himself out to be a notary public or receives any fee or reward as a notary
public when he is not a person duly licensed and enrolled under this Act, |
shall be
guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not
exceeding one hundred and fifty dollars. |
(2) This section
shall not be construed to exempt any person from any prosecution under the
provisions of any other Act to which he would otherwise be liable. |
12. The Minister may, from time to time by order- | Power to amend Schedules. |
(a) amend the First Schedule by deleting therefrom any
public office or including therein any other public office; |
(b) add to or
vary the fees prescribed in the Second Schedule. |
FIRST
SCHEDULE (Sections 4,
12) |
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|
|
(iv) Registrar
of the Supreme Court |
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|
(vii) Out Island
Commissioner |
(viii) Governor
of the Central Bank of The Bahamas |
(ix) Director
of Legal Affairs |
|
(xi) Deputy
Permanent Secretary in the Ministries respectively responsible for Immigration,
National Security, Foreign Affairs and Housing |
(xii) Undersecretary
in the Ministries respectively responsible for Immigration, National Security,
Foreign Affairs and Housing |
(xiii) Chief
Housing Officer. |
SECOND SCHEDULE (Sections 5, 6, 12) |
|
|
$
|
c
|
|
Fee payable on
appointment as notary public
|
125
|
00
|
|
Fee payable on annual
renewal of licence
|
250
|
00
|
|
Fee payable for copy
of certificate lost, destroyed or mutilated
|
20
|
00
|
|
Fee payable for
authenticating or legalising the signature or seal of a notary public-
|
|
|
|
(a) in respect of the first
signature or seal in a document........
|
20
|
00
|
|
(b) in respect of each additional
signature or seal in the
document.....................................................................
|
10
|
00
|
|
THIRD SCHEDULE (Section 7) |
OATH TO BE TAKEN
BY A NOTARY PUBLIC |
I,
...............................................................................................
do swear that I will truly and honourably demean myself in the office of Notary
Public, according to the best of my knowledge and ability, so help me God. |