The Law Regarding Electronic Authentication/ Notarisation
- Old Way: Usually a document needs to be notarised by taking it to a special solicitor,notary public or commissioner of oath This means in person, you would need to bring your proof of identity ( ID, passport, photocard driving license, letters from a government department, bank/building society or credit card statements, gas, electricity or council tax bills or letter from a hospital or doctor as proof of your identity),the original document and a copy that you want notarized
- It will be signed by a Commissioner of Oath or a Notary Public to verify that the copy is a true copy of the original document
- So for example, if you live in the UK and have invested in bitcoin you would have to get this document notarized and then send it off to South Africa, which would take time and cost a lot
- New Way: Legislation has changed, you can now have your document notarized electronically (Electronics Communications and Transactions Act)
- over a zoom call for instance
- It doesn't have to be a physical document, just have the candidate testify
- You can set up a zoom meeting, present the document you want notarized and your ID, so for example the document which is proof that they have a bitwarden claim you’d only need to proof who the investor is and show the document over the call; it can be notarized and sent into the COGS system
- Once you’ve subscribed to the COGS you’ll have a unique portal and you can update the document on the system, authenticated by a zoom notary
- This will cost £20, the document gets uploaded via the process, and it’s valid in court
- You won’t need to find a commissioner of oath since this case will be heard in South Africa, using this electronic signature is the legally accepted way forward
Certifying a document
Certify a document as a true copy of the original by getting it signed and dated by a professional person, like a solicitor.
When you apply for something like a bank account or mortgage, you may be asked to provide documents that are certified as true copies of the original.
Copies of documents that can be certified include:
- passports
- photocard driving licences
- letters from a government department
- bank/building society or credit card statements
- gas, electricity or council tax bills
- letters from a hospital/doctor
Local Solicitors are automatically Commissioners For Oaths and have powers to administer oaths, take affidavits and statutory declarations.
POWER OF ATTORNEY
A lasting power of attorney (LPA) is a legal document that lets you (the ‘donor’) appoint one or more people (known as ‘attorneys’) to help you make decisions or make decisions on your behalf. This gives you more control over what happens to you if, for example, you have an accident or an illness and can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made (you ‘lack mental capacity’). You must be 18 or over and have mental capacity the ability to make your own decisions when you make your LPA.
CERTIFICATION OF DOCUMENTS
Certification of a document as a true copy of the original by getting it signed and dated by a professional person, like a solicitor. When you are applying for something like a bank account or mortgage, you may be asked to provide documents that are certified as true copies of the original. Copies of documents that can be certified from Local Solicitors include: Passports Photocard driving License Letters from a government department Bank/building society or credit card statements Gas, electricity or council tax bills Letters from a hospital/doctor.
STATUTORY DECLARATION
A statutory declaration is a legal document defined under the law of certain Commonwealth nations. It is similar to a statement made under oath, however, it is not sworn. Statutory declarations are commonly used to allow a person to affirm something to be true for the purposes of satisfying some legal requirement or regulation when no other evidence is available.
AFFIDAVITS
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant’s or deponent’s signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public or commissioner of oaths.
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