NOTARIES PUBLIC BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

12.06 p.m.

The Chief Minister (Tun Lim Yew Hock): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Governor has signified his consent that this Bill be proceeded with, and I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Bill, as shown by its long title, seeks to provide for the appointment, powers and duties of notaries public for which there is as yet no local legislation. A notary public is a duly appointed officer whose office it is, among other matters, to clear, attest or certify deeds and other documents, including conveyances and powers of attorney; to note or certify transactions relating to negotiable instruments; to prepare wills and other testamentary documents, to draw up protests and formal papers relating to occurrences on the voyages of ships and their navigation, as well as the carriage of cargo in ships. His office is one of great antiquity and has been recognized in all civilized countries.

The existing notaries public in Singapore, Sir, are English notaries public, appointed by the Master of the Court of Faculties of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, and are also advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court. Such English notaries public will be allowed to carry on their powers and functions in Singapore but power is given in the Bill for the Attorney-General to make a declaration that an English notary public, who has been struck off the roll of notaries public in England, or has been struck off the roll of Advocates and Solicitors of the Supreme Court, shall no longer be entitled to have and to exercise the powers and functions of notaries public in Singapore.

In the Malay States, notaries public have been locally appointed under local enactments, some of which date back to 1898, and the Malayan Union Notaries Public Ordinance of 1947 consolidated these enactments and extended the power to appoint notaries public to the whole of the Federation.

The Bill, Sir, follows closely the Notaries Public Ordinance, 1947, of the Federation of Malaya. It provides for the appointment by the Attorney-General, after consultation with the Bar Committee, of local notaries public who must be practising advocates and solicitors of the Supreme Court of at least seven years' standing; and it also provides for the exercise of the powers and functions of notaries public in Singapore by English notaries public and local notaries public. Power is given to the Attorney-General to revoke the appointment of a local notary public where such person has been struck off the roll of Advocates and Solicitors of the Supreme Court.

Sir, the draft of the Bill has been approved by the Singapore Bar Committee. Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. [The Chief Minister].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr SPEAKER in the Chair]

12.09 p.m.

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 2-

The Chief Minister: Sir, I beg to move,

In page 2, line 7, to leave out "of Singapore".

This is redundant.

Amendment agreed to.

The Chief Minister: Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move,

In page 2, lines 11 and 12, to leave out "name has been struck off the roll of local notaries public" and insert "appointment as a local notary public has been revoked".

Sir, there is no provision in clause 5 or elsewhere in this Bill for a roll of local notaries public. There is mention in clause 5 of a revocation of the appointment of such persons by the Attorney-General, and this amendment is therefore necessary to tidy up the Bill.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 3 to 5 inclusive ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 6-

The Chairman: There is a note,

In page 3, line 5, to leave out "Notaries Public" and insert "notaries public".

That will be done.

Clause 6 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 7 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 8-

The Chairman: There is also a note, to spell "Rules" in two cases with a small "r". That will be done.

Clause 8 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with Amendments; read the Third time and passed.

Mr Speaker: Perhaps the Member for Tanjong Pagar will indicate whether this is a convenient time to suspend.

Mr Lee Kuan Yew: Indeed, Sir.

Mr Speaker: The Assembly is suspended. I will take the Chair again at half-past two p.m.

Sitting accordingly suspended at 12.12 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. Sitting resumed at 2.30 p.m.