Título XII. Inspeccion de protocolos

In the capital, the Director of the General Archive of Protocols, and in the departments the judges of First Instance, are in charge of the inspection and review of the protocols. In departments in which there are several judges of First Instance, the inspection and review shall correspond to all of them in accordance with the distribution to be made by the Supreme Court of Justice.

Without prejudice to the foregoing, the President of the Judicial Branch may annually appoint the number of active colegiado notaries that are necessary to conduct inspection and review of protocols, both in the department of Guatemala and in the other departments of the Republic. The relations of the notaries so appointed with the Judicial Branch shall be regulated by means of an agreement of the Supreme Court of Justice.

The inspection and review has as its purpose to verify whether the formal requirements established in this law have been fulfilled in the protocol.

The ordinary inspection and review shall be conducted each year and the extraordinary inspection and review when ordered by the Supreme Court of Justice. For that purpose, the notary is obliged to present the protocol and its supporting documents, and the inspection and review must be carried out in the notary's presence.

If the notary fails to present the protocol and its supporting documents or refuses to do so, the public official or Inspector of Protocols in charge of the inspection and review shall bring it to the knowledge of the corresponding Judge of First Instance, who, after a hearing granted to the notary for twenty-four hours to state the reasons for the notary's non-compliance or refusal, shall issue, within the following twenty-four hours, the decision that is appropriate; and if such decision is to the effect that the notary present the protocol and its supporting documents, the judge shall so order, under warning of the seizure and removal of the respective protocol and supporting documents from the possession of the unwilling notary, for which purpose recourse may be had to the assistance of the public force. If it is not possible to carry out the inspection and review in the presence of the notary, the respective protocol and supporting documents shall be removed from the notary's possession and immediately remitted to the General Archive of Protocols for whatever may be appropriate.

If in the department there is only one Judge of First Instance and such judge is the one in charge of the inspection and review, he shall resort to the most accessible Judge of First Instance for purposes of the proceedings referred to in the preceding paragraph.

Any delay by a Judge of First Instance in fulfilling the obligations imposed on him under the preceding paragraphs shall be sanctioned by the Supreme Court of Justice.

A notary who, by reason of his non-compliance or refusal, gives cause for the seizure or removal of the protocol to be ordered as indicated in this article shall incur criminal liabilities, both for his disobedience and by virtue of his status as depositary of the protocol, without prejudice to any others that may be pertinent, in accordance with the law. For the determination of such liabilities, the corresponding Judge of First Instance or, as the case may be, the Supreme Court of Justice shall, without delay, certify the relevant matters to the corresponding criminal tribunal.

The public official who performs the inspection and review shall draw up a record in the respective book, in which shall be stated whether or not the formal requirements were fulfilled in the protocol, the observations and instructions made to the notary and the explanations given in this regard by the latter.

If it should appear from the inspection and review that the formal requirements were not observed in the protocol, the respective public official shall forward a certified copy of the corresponding record to the Supreme Court of Justice, which, after a hearing to the notary, shall resolve what is pertinent. Against the decision rendered by the Court, no appeal other than that of liability shall lie.

The decisions issued in connection with the inspection and review of protocols do not prejudge the validity of the public instruments.