Book on natotaries public launched

The first book that discusses in detail, the legal framework and practice of notaries public — people who serve as independent witnesses to claims and assertions — within the Ghanaian context, has been launched in Accra. 

Titled, “Notaries Public Practice in Ghana: The Law, Cases and Materials,” the 19-chapter book examines the subject of notaries public practice by leveraging local laws, cases and other materials in a bid to give its readers such as notaries public, judges, court officials, law students a clearer view about the work of a notary public.

The author, a legal practitioner and researcher, Daniel Yaw Abaidoo, goes back in time to the 13th century to discover for readers the evolution of the legal history of the subject, its practice from the colonial to immediate independence era and how notarial practice is regulated.  

The Chief Justice, Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, authored the foreword.

The first copy was sold for GH¢20,000.

Launch

In a speech read on her behalf by Justice Richard Apietu, a Justice of the High Court, Justice Torkornoo described the book as an invaluable resource capable of enhancing the administration of justice, strengthening notarial services, and aligning Ghanaian practice with global standards.

She observed that while legal scholarship in the country had expanded over the years, no dedicated book on notarial practice had been published until now.

“The absence of a book on notarial practice in the Ghanaian legal system landscape is a lacuna that has been crying to be filled. And I am delighted that the author has laboured to fill this vacuum,” she said.

The book, she said, was a welcome addition to the evolving and growing number of treatises on legal practice and procedural practice informed by Ghanaian jurisprudence saying it is the first of its kind by an author within the country’s jurisdiction, contextualised on Ghana jurisprudence, and informed by the standards and requirements of global notarial practice.

“The book is an answer to dispel any confused conceptions on the work of the notary in our jurisdiction. It will help to dispel doubts, and to inform and educate the legal fraternity of the broad scope of the practices of the notary,” the Chief Justice stated. 

Reference guide

Sharing his inspiration for writing the book, Mr Abaidoo explained that he was driven by his deep interest in the subject of notarial practice, his desire to understand its role in the Ghanaian judicial system, and the need to provide a reference guide for legal practitioners.

The book, he said, was an attempt to provide  clear guidance on the legal regime governing notarial practice, detailing the laws, regulations and ethical considerations that guide notaries public in Ghana.

"We have in our hands today, a treatise on the subject of notary’s public practice with the Ghanaian jurisprudential flavour, contextualising and expounding on the relevant distinct Ghanaian laws, regulations and requirements, which impact on notary public practice within our jurisdiction," he stated.

Covers everything

The Founding Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Cape Coast, Prof. Philip Ebow Bondzi-Simpson, stressed the book’s significance in enhancing legal education, guiding notaries, and upholding professional standards.

“Everything that one ought to know about the notary’s public practice is covered in this book,” he said.