Miranda Marshall, the Partner responsible for Hayes + Storr’s Wells-next-the-Sea Office, has been admitted as a Notary Public.  Miranda took her formal oath in front of the Rev Christopher Wood (as representative of the Archbishop of Canterbury) at Brancaster Church on 15th November 2009.

Notaries have practised under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury since 1553, as a result of the Ecclesiastical Licenses Act of 1553, and have been regulated by one of the oldest Courts in England, the Court of Faculties.  The Court is presided over by the highest ecclesiastical Judge, who is often a Judge of the High Court of England and Wales.

Miranda Marshall with Hayes + Storr Consultant John Gethin,
and the Rev Christopher Wood

Notaries in England and Wales form the third and oldest branch of the legal profession in the United Kingdom and their origins can be traced as far back as the Roman occupation of Britain.

Briefly, in order to qualify as a Notary one must have a University degree and pass the Postgraduate Diploma of Notarial Practice, Roman Law and International Private Law provided by Cambridge University.  Once the potential Notary has passed these requirements, he or she may petition the Court of Faculties for a “Faculty”.  A Faculty grants the Notary authority to practice.  Most Notaries already practice as solicitors or occasionally, barristers.

The Notary’s job is to verify signatures, documents and all sorts of transactions in order that they will be acceptable in countries outside England and Wales.  This is done by interviewing clients, making quite sure of their identity and their capacity to do what they want to do.  The Notary ensures that the client understands the document or transaction properly and that they intend it to be an effective matter.  In most placesin the world a document or transaction that has been certified by a Notary will be binding on the client.

This is why a client of a Notary is actually more accurately termed “the appearer”, as they appear before a Notary to have something signed and sealed. Interestingly, no-one ever actually wants to come and see a Notary, they do so because whatever they want to achieve cannot be completed without one!

These are some of the things a Notary does:

· Witness a signature
· Certify the due execution of a deed or document by an individual or a Company and that it is binding in English Law
· Attest a power of attorney in favour of someone overseas, making sure that it is a deed according to English Law and in the form required for overseas
· Certify a copy of a document, usually after checking the original is genuine, which may have to be done through the originator or by a company search

Every notarial document must have the Notary’s seal impressed upon it.  Miranda has chosen the symbol of a seahorse.  The seahorse is an heraldic device which represents “safe travel – particularly overseas”.  During Miranda’s research, she discovered the image of a seahorse in a Roman mosaic from a villa on the south coast near Poole and her seal is based on that.

We congratulate Miranda on her achievement and if you would like to learn more about our Notarial Services, please contact Miranda at our Wells office 01328 710210.