The main activity of notaries is to draw up notarial deeds. In a deed, the notary authenticates the agreements: this means that he gives them a particular force (probative force and enforceability). Probative force means that what is declared by the person drawing up the deed must be considered as accurate. A notarial deed is also enforceable: what is decided in it must be carried out. In other words, the deed is enforceable against third parties and does not, for example, require a court judgment to be enforced.
Drawing up a notarial deed is a complex process. First of all, the notary receives the private individuals who consult him, gives advice and proposes solutions, guides the parties in their choice, analyzes with them the civil and tax consequences of the various solutions, and estimates the costs inherent in the operation. Once the parties have made their decision, the notary gathers the necessary information and administrative details.
The notary then draws up the deeds and sends the draft to the parties. The notary then receives the deeds, reading and explaining them to the parties, certifying their additional declarations and collecting their signatures before signing them himself. By receiving the deeds, the notary assumes responsibility for them.
After the deed is drawn up, he ensures that all subsequent formalities (such as registration, entry in the Central Register of Wills or marriage contracts, etc.) are carried out. Finally, he keeps the deeds in his office.
The Notary Department of A&A ATTORNEYS|AVOCATS, headed by Maître NISHIMWE CLAUDINE, who has also been a member of the Rwandan Bar Association since 2010, provides quality services to the firm’s clients in the following areas:
- Authentication of deeds.
Our notarial department is competent to authenticate private deeds legally executed by individuals, companies or other organizations whenever they need to file or use authentic instruments. Deeds that can be authenticated include, but are not limited to, contracts, Board of Directors or Company Resolutions, minutes of meetings and many other deeds.
- Authentication of signatures.
Me Nishimwe Claudine, as a Notary authorized to practice by MINJUST, is empowered to authenticate signatures by verifying your identity and affixing her seal to attest the authenticity of the signature on all documents. Legalization of signature, or material certification of signature, thus attests to the veracity of your signature on a private deed.
- Certification of document authenticity.
Some documents are authentic, but this authenticity is not known to everyone except the drawer and the holder. At the request of interested parties, after verification by all legal means, our notary can certify the authenticity of a document before it is used.
- Attestation of conformity.
In most cases, useful documents such as diplomas, transcripts, certificates and extracts are issued in a single copy, which the owner or beneficiary must keep permanently. To ensure conformity, some people ask for notarized copies, and our notary can certify with his or her stamp that a copy conforms to the original, after verification and assurance of conformity.
- Issue of copies of deeds.
Certain deeds are drawn up by or before the notary, who retains an original copy of the deed. At the request of heirs or qualified persons, notaries issue copies of all deeds drawn up by them or executed before them under the conditions laid down by law.
6-Certification of wills.
Our Notary Department certifies different types of wills and authenticates them in accordance with the provisions of the law of succession and wills in particular. Wills subject to certification include those relating to movable property, immovable property and other types of assets that may be bequeathed by the owner. We also authenticate or certify wills concerning the assignment of rights and responsibilities.
- Certification and authentication of complex deeds.
Some deeds are, by their very nature, complex, depending on the number of parties involved, the value of the money involved, the number of transactions to be concluded or other factors that may not ensure their sincerity in the future. Our notaries have the capacity and competence to verify and certify or authenticate complex deeds.
- Issuance of other notarial deeds and other notarial services.
The above list of notarial services is not exhaustive. Our notarial department can authenticate or provide notarial services in areas such as deeds of sale, promises to sell or purchase, donations, marriage contracts, etc. A full list of the documents we are able to notarize, together with the respective fees, is available in our Law Office or can be sent on request via the notary’s private e-mail address: notary@aa-attorneys.com
