Título I. Notarios

The Notary has public faith to attest and authorize acts and contracts in which he intervenes by provision of the law or at the request of a party.

To exercise the Notariat, the following are required:

1.To be a natural-born Guatemalan, of legal age, of lay status, and domiciled in the Republic, except as provided in subsection 2 of Article 6;

2.To have obtained the professional degree in the Republic or incorporation in accordance with the law;

3.To have registered with the Supreme Court of Justice the professional degree or incorporation degree, and the signature and seal to be used with the usual first and last names; and

4.To be of well-known honesty.

The following are disqualified from exercising the Notariat:

1.Those who are civilly incapacitated;

2.Drug addicts and habitual drunkards;

3.The blind, deaf or mute, and those suffering from any other physical or mental defect that prevents them from correctly performing their duties; and

4.Those who have been convicted of any of the following crimes: falsification, robbery, theft, fraud, fraudulent bankruptcy or insolvency, bribery and infidelity in the custody of documents, and in the cases of prevarication and embezzlement indicated in articles 240, 241, 242, 243, 244 and 288 of the Penal Code.

The following may not exercise the Notarial profession:

1ºThose who have an order of imprisonment based on any of the crimes referred to in subparagraph 4 of the preceding article;

2ºThose who hold a public office to which jurisdiction is annexed;

3ºThe public officials and employees of the Executive and Judicial Branches and of the municipalities who earn salaries from the State or from the municipality, and the President of the Congress of the Republic.

4ºThose who have failed for one quarter of the calendar year, or more, to comply with the obligations imposed by Article 37 of this Code. Notaries who are in this situation may issue the overdue special testimonies with the requirements established by this Code, in order to cure such impediment.

Notarial practice may be exercised, notwithstanding the provisions of subsections 2º and 3º of the preceding article:

1ºThe members of the directive and teaching personnel of the University of San Carlos and of the State educational establishments;

2ºConsulting lawyers, counselors or advisors, the members or secretaries of the technical, consultative commissions or advisors of State bodies, as well as the directors or editors of official publications, when the position they hold is not full-time;

3ºThe members of the Tribunal of Conflicts of jurisdiction;

4ºThe members of the Municipal Corporations who perform their offices ad honorem, except the mayor;

5ºOfficial procurators and defenders, and secretaries of the Tribunals of Justice and of Administrative Litigation; and

6ºThe members of the Conciliation Boards of the Arbitration Tribunals and of the Joint Commissions established by the Labor Code, and the members of the Electoral Boards and of the Press Juries.

The following may also exercise the Notariate:

1.Judges of First Instance, in the seats of their jurisdiction in which there is no qualified Notary, or where, there being one, he is unable or refuses to provide his services. In such case, they shall state in the instrument itself the reason for their notarial action. Violation of this provision or inaccuracy of the reason for their action as Notary does not invalidate the document, but obligates the Judge to pay a fine equivalent to double the fees to which he would be entitled according to the tariff. The fine shall be imposed by the Supreme Court of Justice and shall be paid into the Treasury of Judicial Funds;

2.The consuls or diplomatic agents of the Republic, accredited and resident abroad, who are qualified notaries in accordance with this law; and

3.Employees who are specifically instituted for the exercise of notarial functions, which they may not exercise in a private capacity.

The titular attorneys of credit institutions shall not authorize the documents in which said institutions appear or have a direct interest, except for the records of drawing and auction.