Notary Liability for Authentic Deeds after the Expiration of the Term of Office

Abstract

Notaries are public officials authorized to draw up authentic deeds with conclusive evidentiary force. However, the expiration of a notary's term of office raises questions concerning the continuing liability for deeds that are subsequently found to be legally defective. This study analyzes the legal requirements and procedures for drawing up authentic deeds and develops a framework for notarial liability after the notary has left office. It employs normative legal research using statutory, conceptual, and case approaches. Primary and secondary legal materials were collected through library research and analyzed using systematic, comparative and forward-looking interpretation, content analysis, and deductive reasoning. The findings show that the authenticity of a deed depends on the fulfillment of requirements concerning the official's authority, the prescribed form and procedure, the legal capacity of the appearing parties, witnesses, reading aloud, and signing, as stipulated in the Notary Office Law. Depending on the nature of the defect, non-compliance may downgrade the deed's evidentiary force, render it voidable, or make it null and void by operation of law. The expiration of the term of office does not extinguish liability for deeds drawn up while the notary was in office. Liability must be based on fault, loss, causation, and the nature of the violation, and may take civil, criminal, administrative, or ethical forms according to the character of the conduct. Strengthening audits of notarial protocols before their handover is necessary to prevent disputes arising after the notary has left office.