Professional Responsibility and Disciplinary Rules
Professional Responsibility and Disciplinary Rules
This domain tests the standards and sanctions that apply to notaries under the Notaries Ordinance.
Core rules
- A notary must act with integrity, competence, independence and confidentiality, and must comply with the Notaries Ordinance and professional rules.
- Disciplinary complaints may lead to inquiry, warning, suspension or removal from the roll; the notary must answer complaints and keep proper records.
- The notary is liable for negligence and for false certification; delegation of attestation is not permitted.
- Trust money must be kept separately; fees must be disclosed; conflicts must be avoided or managed.
Worked example
A notary certifies that parties appeared before him when in fact only a clerk met them. The certificate is false. The notary faces disciplinary action and civil liability because the attestation is personal and cannot be delegated. The reasoning is that the public relies on the notary's personal certification; without it, the deed's authenticity is undermined and the register becomes unreliable.
Traps
Pre-signing or pre-attesting; delegating attestation; failing to maintain registers; charging undisclosed fees; and practising while suspended.