Private notaries will operate under the 2014 law which replaced the one that had been introduced in 1953. The Ministerial order regulating them was issued last year.
Speaking while presiding over the swearing in ceremony yesterday, the Minister of Justice, Johnston Busingye said that the activity aims at promoting justice through notary services as well as promoting job creation for private sector in Rwanda.
He said that as they are the maiden private notaries Rwanda has had, it is a tough assignment but will be evaluated on whether their introduction was necessary.
“As it is the first time, this is history. Possibly, those who will swear-in in the future will not have tough responsibilities as you do. It’s you who will prove to the country that the decision to allow private notaries to operate was perfect.,” he said.
“Every person who needs notary services always has another mission ahead; like to pursue studies, doing business or needs to go outside the country, seeking notary services is a pathway, is not the end. So, when you are not working and people miss your services, it means that you send the message to people who initiated this idea (private notaries) that it has no value,” Busingye noted.
Busingye urged notaries to be cautious in their job by avoiding wrongful notifications. He urged them to report people who they will find using forged documents.
“When you do not report a person using counterfeit documents to institutions in charge, you will be facilitating them to do so. So, when these institutions will establish that you were aware but ignored to report, you will be held responsible,” he said.
Speaking to IGIHE, Viateur Ndagijimana, a trained lawyer said that they are going to support people to easily access notary services .
“Those are challenging responsibilities, but we are going to work hard to change the bad image people have about notary services. We will put good services before money,” he said.
The ministerial order regulating notaries requires five years of experience in legal profession for a person to become private notary.
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