The Gazette 1990

GAZETTE

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1990

When the Faculty has taken a view, on the above bases, whether to support or oppose an applicaiton it would become my function, as Registrar, to swear an affidavit setting forth that view. This affi- davit procedure has the advantage, where the Faculty is opposing an application, of making the applicant aware, in advance and without the embarrassment of an oral objection in open court, of the nature of such objection. It is incumbent upon a notary to keep a record of each notarial act performed, sufficient to enable him to confirm, if such be the case, that he carried out a particlar notarial act on a particular day, if, for ex- ample, documentation subsequent- ly went astray in transit between Ireland and another country. A more detailed history of the notary public, and the forms nec- essary for the making of an application for appointment can be found in E. Rory O'Connor's book "The Irish Notary". As Registrar of the Faculty, I am available to answer any queries in relation to the appointment as, or functions of, the notary. •

existing notaries in the applicant's county and the surrounding counties are notice parties, as also are the Law Society and the Faculty. When the Faculty receives notice of an application it considers the application under three head- ings: 1 .ability of the applicant to perform „ the functions of a notary; 2.facilities to carry out such functions; and, 3 .the need for appointment in the particular area. 1. Ability of the Applicant The Faculty takes the view that practising solicitors of at least three years' standing are quali- fied to carry out the functions of a notary public. The Faculty is further of the view that whereas it is not strictly necessary to be a qualified solicitor to be able to perform the funcitons of a not- ary (and, as referred to earlier, there are at present four non- solicotor notaries), by and large the Faculty feels it would have to look carefully at any applica- tion by a non-solicitor for appointment as a notary be- cause most of the work of the notary is of a legal or quasi-legal nature and as time goes on with '1992' and all it entails is becoming more so. 2. Available Facilities The Faculty assumes that any solicitor in private practice as a principal or partner has the nor- mal office facilities necessary to duly carry out the functions of a notary; although where a sol- icitor applicant is not a principal within the firm where he works then the question of his availa- bility to the public as of right and his availability to the office facilities should be clarified in the making of the application. 3. Need for the Appointment The Faculty takes the view that the question of need is one to be decided on each individual application. A growth in popula- tion and industrial and com- mercial activity can create new needs in an area. A solicitor who has a number of clients who need the services of a notary from time to time would not thereby necessarily estab- lish a need in the area because

that solicitor, if appointed a notary, would not be in a position to notarise his own existing clients' documents - in the same way as a solicitor commissioner for oaths would not take his own clients' affidavits. At the present time it is the Faculty's view that there are few, if any, areas of the country where there is at present a need for another notary public. Also, it is the view of the Faculty that if a vacancy arises due to the death of an existing notary that the Faculty would favour an appointment from among any surviving par- tners of that deceased notary. Where there is more than one applicant to replace a deceased notary and where the Chief Justice is disposed to making one appointment only then the Faculty would favour the applicant who is the longer or longest in practice as a solicitor in the particular area. It is of interest to note that in Northern Ireland there are only 16 notar- ies as apposed to 140 in the Republic of Ireland and this is reflected in the small volume of work individually performed by the latter. Notaries in this jurisdiction have told me that they are averaging half a dozen to a dozen notarial acts in a year. Also, in the not too distant past, a notary, now deceased, was reluctant to pay his - then £10 per annum - subscription to the Faculty on the basis that this would leave him in a nett loss situation! However, follow- ing on his death that notary's solicitor son applied to be appointed in his stead so, perhaps, the position is not to be viewed purely in financial terms. In addition to the above three heads of consideration of an application, the Faculty also wishes that it be made clear by an appli- cant that he has no intention or expectation of moving the location of his practice. It is obvious that if there be a need in a praticular area and the Chief Justice fills that need by appointing a notary then that area would be deprived of the services of the notary if there was a material change of his practice location shortly following on such appointment.

The Editorial Board would like to congratulate Niall McGarrigle, a member of the Law Society staff, who recently won 1st Prize in the O.Z. Whitehead Playrights com- petition. While this annual competition is only open to Irish citizens at home and abroad, it is worthwhile noting that previous winners of this prestigious award include such names as Francis McGuinness, Bernard Farrell and Aodhan Madden. Niall's play, a comedy entitled: "Busy Hands are Happy Hands" is about a sit-in at an office, and is currently undergoing the close scrutiny of the readers of a well established Dublin theatre, where it may be performed later this year. For the record Niall was educated at CBS Monkstown Park and UCD. He has been working with the Law Society for the past four years. We wish him every success in the future.

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