TCI: Consultation on Notary Public Bill (Correction)

#Providenciales, October 10, 2018 – Turks and Caicos -The general public is being invited to participate in providing feedback on the draft Notary Public Bill. Your comments are necessary in finalizing this Bill which is beneficial to the entire Turks and Caicos Islands.

The Bill seeks to provide for a comprehensive and revised law to regulate the profession of notaries public in the Islands and thus will repeal the existing Notary Public Ordinance. The Bill will provide for requirements for eligibility to be appointed as a notary public and obligations to be met by persons appointed to this office.

The current Notary Public Ordinance was enacted as far back as 1894 and has been enforceable since 8th December 1894 and has only been amended in 2000 to update the notary acts and fees.  The existing Ordinance limits the number of appointments to only five notaries public, which number has proven impracticable in this current age, and has warranted a decision on the ground for the appointing authority to appoint more notaries than is required by the Ordinance.  It is proven that with the advancement of time and with the development and growth in the Islands, there are more persons qualified to be appointed and to hold the office of a notary public and to perform such services.

The draft Notary Public Bill is accessible via the government website www.gov.tc . The general public is also notified that comments can be sent to the following email address: notariespublicconsultation@gov.tc or to the Governor’s Office, Waterloo, Grand Turk.

The consultation closes 18 October 2018.

Release: TCIG