Lawyer or Notary Public

Lic. Rodrigo José Pastor Peralta
Attorney /Abogado
rpastorp@abogados.or.cr

In many Latin American countries, including for a long time Costa Rica, when a person received their law degree and was authorized to litigate, he or she was automatically granted the prerogative to be habilitated as a Notary Public.

With the promulgation of the new Notary Code, the Costa Rican legislature took notice of the many distinct differences that exist between the two, differences which in other countries are so great, that one cannot be the other. We Ticos did not go that far, but nowadays, any person who wants to become a Public Notary must first receive a law degree, and must also complete a specialization in the Notary field. The primordial reason for this, and one of the main differences between being a lawyer and being a Notary Public, is that the latter has the state given authority to attest documents. In other words he or she has the authority to certify the authenticity of documents. This means that when a Notary Public certifies that something is true, it is, unless proven otherwise in a judicial process. Lawyers do not possess this great responsibility.

Another big difference between the two, and also reason for the legislative change, is that while the lawyer serves a particular client looking out for his best interest taking sides in a particular conflict, the notary public must be impartial in all his actions. The notary public is a public official, and as such must look out for the interest of all parties involved in a particular act. Therefore if he takes sides, giving legal advice to one party and neglecting to tell or deceiving another party on the consequences of the act that is to take place, he would be infringing on the inherent rights of that party to seek an impartial notary public, and could even result in criminal charges.

The Notary Public is the person who is in charge of authorizing deeds, certifying the authenticity of documents or signatures and is also responsible for any registration needed in the National Registration. He or she must explain to all parties involved about the legal ramifications that may result from the act they are partaking in. It is also the Notary Public’s responsibility to make sure the people who ask for his or her intervention are who they say they are and that they are competent to act as they want according to Costa Rican legislation.

As you can see, there are very distinct differences between being a lawyer and being a Notary Public. In Costa Rica, due to the fact that the new legislation past so recently, the majority of lawyers are also Notary Publics. Just make sure you know the difference and are advised accordingly.