P3 CLINICA NOTARIADO CLS 3

Summary

The class introduces Guatemalan notarial acts—instruments made outside the notarial protocol—and contrasts them with public deeds recorded in the protocol. The lecturer presents their practical requirements, structure, taxes, categories, and examples.

1. Protocol practice versus notarial acts

• The lecturer describes protocol practice as a central part of notarial work, but one that carries ongoing administrative obligations. These include opening a protocol, buying protocol sheets, preparing testimonies, submitting special testimonies and notices, and keeping the related receipts and records.
• A notary may also work without opening a protocol by authorizing extra-protocol instruments, beginning with notarial acts.
• As explained in class, authorizing a notarial act does not require opening a protocol or submitting protocol-related notices and testimonies. The notary must, however, meet the relevant professional requirements and have their signature and seal registered.
• The lecture distinguishes notarial acts, which record facts or statements, from public deeds, which record legal transactions such as sales, mandates, and company formations. Those transactions should not be put into a notarial act merely because a client wants them recorded.

2. What a notarial act records

A notarial act is described as an instrument authorized at a party’s request that records facts the notary witnesses, circumstances known to the notary, or statements reported by a person. It is not the proper form for recording a contract.

The lecturer stresses that notaries should not record “anything and everything.” They must consider what the act can properly establish and what evidence is appropriate for the matter. For example, a marriage certificate—not a sworn statement—is the appropriate proof that someone is married.

3. General structure for drafting a notarial act

The lecture demonstrates a sample act and outlines these elements:

1. Place, date, and time: State when and where the act is authorized.
2. Exact location: Unlike a public deed, the act should identify the specific place where the notary is present, because it may record events or circumstances observed there.
3. Applicant’s details: Identify the person requesting the service. The lecturer uses “applicant,” rather than “grantor” or “appearing party,” for this role.
4. Purpose of the request: State what the applicant needs the notary to record.
5. Narration of facts or statements: Record the relevant circumstances, observations, or declarations. Use numbered points where appropriate.
6. Authorization: Read the act to the applicant, record their acceptance and signature, and state the pages used and applicable stamps. The lecturer calls this an authorization rather than a deed’s closing.
7. Signatures, seal, and numbering: Include the required signatures and professional seal, and number the act.

The lecturer advises including full identifying details when uncertain, since institutions reviewing documents may impose their own requirements. The lecture also warns against careless copying of templates: mistakes in the date or location can lead to a document being rejected.

4. Paper and taxes discussed in class

• The lecturer says notarial acts are generally written on bond paper, rather than protocol sheets, and refers to an exception involving the cover of a sealed will.
• The lecture states that the act attracts a 50-cent fiscal stamp per sheet and a Q10 notarial stamp. The professional seal is used to invalidate the stamps so they cannot be reused.
• For an act recording an appointment of a legal representative, the lecturer says an additional Q100 fiscal stamp applies.
• The lecturer explains that tax stamps can be purchased through SAT registration, while protocol sheets are reserved for notaries and cannot be used as protocol until the protocol has been opened.

These procedural and tax details are presented as part of the class; they should be checked against current Guatemalan law and administrative practice before relying on them.

5. Main categories and examples of notarial acts

The lecture discusses several kinds of acts. The categories are presented as practical classifications, not as a single comprehensive statutory classification.

• Acts of presence: The notary certifies something personally perceived. Examples include a marriage act and a certificate of survival.
• Reference acts: The notary records what a person says but does not attest that the reported facts are true. Examples include sworn statements and an act concerning separation of spouses. The notary’s responsibility is to establish who made the statement.
• Acts of request or requirement: Used to record a demand for performance of an obligation. The example given is a protest act involving a check returned for insufficient funds.
• Notification acts: Used to document that a notice or court papers were delivered. The lecturer says the notifying notary must be independent of the lawyer handling the case, and that the completed act is returned to the court.
• Acts of notoriety: Used to establish notorious facts relevant to legal rights or status. The example is identification of a third party to show that different versions of a person’s name refer to the same person.
• Other examples: The lecture also discusses inventory acts, marriage acts, acts concerning sealed wills, and house-arrest acts connected to certain traffic incidents.

6. Special requirements and professional responsibility

• Some acts have additional statutory requirements. For example, the lecture says marriage acts must include the details and declarations required by the Civil Code.
• The lecturer explains that a notary may perform a marriage without having opened a protocol, but must later formalize the act. The lecture notes that the law, as described in class, does not set a specific deadline for doing so.
• The lecturer emphasizes honesty and responsibility toward clients, careful compliance with formalities, and avoiding unsupported claims in legal documents.

Speakers and sources featured

Speakers

• Main lecturer: The instructor, referred to in the subtitles as “L” or “LC”; their full name is not given.
• Named student participants: Edgar; Ingrid; Olga Marina; Wendy (also used as the hypothetical applicant Wendy Lorena Morales Castro); Manuel Hernández; Jorge Arenas; Jaimie; Nancy; and Blendy.
• Other participants: Several unnamed students read statutory excerpts or definitions and respond to questions.

Legal sources cited in the lecture

• Guatemalan Notary Code: Article 60.
• Stamp Tax Law and special stamp provisions: Cited in the lecture through Article 3, subsection C; Article 5, paragraphs 5 and 6; and Article 33, number 10.
• Guatemalan Civil Code: Articles 93, 101, 155(4), and a provision on sealed wills cited inconsistently in the subtitles as Article 959 or Article 95.
• Civil and Commercial Procedural Code: Articles 33, 71, and 442; Article 480 is also mentioned in connection with protest acts.
• Criminal Procedure Code: Article 265, cited regarding house-arrest acts.
• State Procurement Law: Article 26, cited in connection with sworn statements.