Rwanda
Law governing the Office of the Notary
Law 13BIS of 2014
- Published in Official Gazette special on 29 May 2014
- Assented to on 21 May 2014
- Commenced on 29 May 2014
- [This is the version of this document from 29 May 2014.]
Chapter One
General provisions
Article One – Purpose of this Law
This Law determines the organization and practice of the office of notary.Article 2 – Definition of terms
Under this Law, the following terms shall have the following meanings:1°notarized deed: deed signed before the notary and bearing his/her signature and stamp;2°notarized document: any document signed by the notary;3°authentic deed: a deed which has been drawn up or received with all the required formalities by a public officer authorized to officiate in the place where it is drawn up;4°Ministry: the Ministry in charge of justice;5°Minister: the Minister in charge of justice;6°authenticated signature: signature or fingerprint certified by a person who is competent to authenticate signatures;7°notary: civil servant or any other private person authorised by the Minister, with the legal power to draw up acts, receive them or witness the signing thereof in order to make them legally authentic and certify the conformity of copies to their originals by virtue of powers conferred upon him/her by this Law;8°person: natural person, company, organization or cooperative with legal personality.Article 3 – Categories of notaries
Notaries shall be classified into the following categories:1°a civil servant in charge of the office of notary in the Ministry;2°the Ambassador or the First Secretary of Embassy in the absence of the Ambassador;3°an officer in charge of the office of notary in the Government Service in charge of investment promotion;4°a District officer in charge of legal affairs;5°a District officer at the Sector level in charge of complaints from the public;6°the following officers in charge of land-related matters:a)Registrar of Land Titles;b)Deputy Registrar of Land Titles and an officer in charge of land registration and legal affairs within the land registration area in the absence of the Deputy Registrar;c)Head of the land office at the District level;d)Officer in charge of land at the Sector level;7°any other private person authorized by the Minister.The Minister, upon request by the District, shall determine the number of notaries at each notarial office depending on the volume of services to be provided to the public by the notary.An Order of the Minister may determine other civil servants who can exercise notarial powers.Chapter II
Access to the office of notary
Section One – Conditions required for the practice of the office of notary
Article 4 – Conditions required to be a notary
For a person to practice the office of notary, he/she must satisfy the following conditions:1°to be a Rwandan national;2°to have reached the legal age of majority;3°to hold at least a bachelor’s degree in law or its equivalent;4°not having been definitively sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than or equal to six (6) years which has not been nullified by amnesty or rehabilitation;5°not having been dismissed from duties as a result of disciplinary sanctions;6°to have at least a five (5) years experience in legal profession for a private notary.The provisions of paragraph One of this Article shall not apply either to the Ambassador or the First Secretary of Embassy or officers in charge of notarial services in land-related matters.Article 5 – Incompatibilities with the office of notary
The notary shall not be allowed to practice the following offices:1°judge;2°Prosecutor;3°court bailiff;4°court registrar;5°any other public or private office unless he/she is empowered to do so by the Minister.Section 2 – Taking office as a notary
Article 6 – Practicing the office of notary
Any person appointed to any of the offices provided for in Article 3 of this Law shall automatically become a notary.An Order of the Minister shall determine modalities for access to and practice of the office of notary by private persons.Article 7 – Oath-taking
Except the Ambassador or the First Secretary of Embassy who is governed by special laws, every notary shall, before taking office, take an oath orally before the Minister or any other civil servant delegated for that purpose in writing by the Minister and statement thereof shall be taken.The notary shall take the following oath:Should I fail to honour this oath, may I face the rigours of the law.The Minister or any other civil servant delegated for that purpose by the Minister shall issue a certificate to the person having taken oath.Article 8 – Notary’s card
In discharging his/her duties, the notary must have a professional card attesting to his/her authorization to practice the office of notary.A civil servant in charge of the office of notary shall receive the card from the entity where he/she is employed.An Order of the Minister shall determine the format of and modalities for obtaining a private notary’s card.Chapter III
Competences of notary
Section One – Competence ratione materiae
Article 9 – Competences of a notary at the Ministry, District, Sector and that of a private notary
In exercising their duties, a notary at the Ministry, District, Sector and private notary shall have the following competences:1°authentication of deeds;2°authentication of signatures;3°certification of document authenticity;4°certification of the conformity of a copy to the original;5°issuance of copies of deeds they draw up;6°certification of wills involving movable property and that of acts that nullify them drawn up by testators;7°certification and authentication of complex deeds related to movable and immovable property;8°issuance of other notarial deeds provided for by law.Article 10 – Competences of a notary in land-related matters
The officer in charge of notarial duties in land-related matters shall have the following competences:1°to certify and authenticate wills involving immovable property and deeds that nullify them drawn up by testators;2°to certify and authenticate contracts for transfer of land and other immovable property incorporated into soil through succession, donation, bequest, inheritance, leasing, sale, land leasing, compensation, right-of-way, provision of a guarantee for the benefit of a third party;3°to certify and authenticate contracts relating to condominium agreements;4°to certify and authenticate other deeds related to land transfer provided for by law.Article 11 – Competences of a notary at the Government Service in charge of investment promotion
The notary at the Government Service in charge of investment promotion shall have the following competences:1°the competence referred to under Article 9 of this Law, with the exception of the deeds provided for under item 6° of that Article;2°the competence referred to under Article 10 of this Law.However, the competences provided for in Paragraph One of this Article shall be limited only to a person wishing to invest in Rwanda or export goods from Rwanda.Article 12 – Notarial competences of Ambassador and First Secretary of the Embassy
In exercising their duties, the Ambassador and the First Secretary of Embassy shall have the following competences:1°authentication of deeds;2°authentication of signatures;3°certification of document authenticity;4°certification of the conformity of a copy to the original;5°issuance of copies of the deeds they have drawn up;6°issuance of other notarial deeds provided by Law.However, before being used in Rwanda, deeds certified or authenticated by the Ambassador or the First Secretary of the Embassy shall be approved by the Ministry in charge of foreign affairs.Article 13 – Notary’s competence with respect to the deeds to be sent abroad
In case there are deeds that are meant for being sent abroad and which need to be certified by a notary, such documents shall be notarized by a notary at the Ministry, Government Service in charge of investment promotion and Registrar of Land Titles in accordance with their respective competence ratione materiae.Section 2 – Notary’s territorial competence
Article 14 – Territorial competence
Notary’s territorial competence shall be as follows:1°the notary at the Ministry shall have jurisdiction over the whole territory of the Republic of Rwanda;2°the notary at the Government Service in charge of investment promotion shall have jurisdiction over the whole territory of the Republic of Rwanda;3°the notary at the District level shall have jurisdiction over the whole territory of the District of his/her duty station;4°the notary at the Sector level shall have jurisdiction over the whole territory of the Sector of his/her duty station;5°the Ambassador and the First Secretary of the Embassy shall be competent in the whole territory of countries under their jurisdiction;6°the notary in land-related matters shall be competent over the whole territory of his/her duty station;7°the private notary shall have jurisdiction over the entire national territory.The notaries referred to under items 2°, 3°, 4° and 5° of this Article shall serve their clients regardless of where they come from except for matters relating to wills and immovable property which shall be handled in accordance with relevant laws.Article 15 – Extension of territorial competence for a notary public
When a notary at the District is absent or prevented from discharging his/her duties for a period exceeding two (2) days, such duties shall be discharged by the notary at the Sector where the head office of the District is located. The same shall also apply to the notary in land-related matters at the District level.When the notary at the Sector is absent or prevented from discharging his/her duties for a period exceeding two (2) days, such duties shall be discharged by the notary from at the nearest Sector. The same shall also apply to notary in land-related matters at the Sector level.The District Mayor shall approve in writing the extension of a notary’s territorial competence and inform the Minister thereof.The notary referred to in Paragraphs One and 2 of this Article shall serve all clients seeking his/her services. However, documents relating to wills and immovable property shall be handled in accordance with relevant laws.Chapter IV
Practice of the office of notary
Section One – Principles governing a notary in the exercise of his/her duties
Article 16 – Compliance with laws
The notary shall act in the name of Government and in compliance with laws.Article 17 – Independence of notary
In the performance of his/her notarial duties, the notary shall act in complete independence.Article 18 – Personal liability of a notary
While performing his/her duties, a notary Public shall obtain legal assistance from Government, which shall assume his/her liability in accordance with the law.However, the Government shall not assume liability arising from the notary’s misconduct committed deliberately or through negligence or for offenses of which a notary is convicted.A private notary shall be personally liable for any misconduct committed during the performance of his/her duties.Article 19 – Capacity building for a notary
Before taking up office, every notary shall receive training in relation with his/her duties.Such training shall be given by the organ in which he/she works.Section 2 – Conduct, sanctions and cessation of the office of notary
Article 20 – Good conduct
In exercising his/her duties, a notary must particularly:1°be characterized by honesty and integrity;2°be characterized by good willing in all his/her activities and good customer care;3°demonstrate good conduct before his/her clients and avoid anything that may give rise to an argument.Article 21 – Observance of professional secrecy
Unless otherwise provided by law, a notary shall be bound by professional secrecy in the exercise of his/her duties.Article 22 – Supervision of notaries
In fulfilling his/her duties, a notary public shall be supervised by his/her immediate superior.An Order of the Minister shall determine modalities for the supervision of a private notary.Article 23 – Administrative sanctions
Without prejudice to civil or criminal liability resulting from damage or failure to perform his/her duties, a notary public shall be subject to sanctions in accordance with the General Statutes for Rwanda Public Service.Without prejudice to civil or criminal liability resulting from damage or failure to perform his/her duties, the private notary shall be subjected by the Minister to the following sanctions:1°warning in writing;2°reprimand;3°temporary suspension from notarial duties from one month to six (6) months;4°definitive removal from notarial duties.Article 24 – Reasons for removal from office of private notary
A private notary shall be removed from office for any of the following reasons:1°to give, demand or accept a bribe;2°to misappropriate a property;3°to commit fraud;4°to be definitively sentenced to a term of imprisonment equal to or exceeding six (6) months;5°fraudulent access to the office of notary;6°to be characterized by discrimination in the exercise of his/her duties;7°professional incompetence;8°to be found guilty of the crime of genocide or genocide ideology.Article 25 – Termination of office of notary
The office of notary shall be terminated if the notary:1°resigns;2°no longer holds the office allowing him/her to be a notary;3°no longer fulfils his/he duties due to illness ascertained by a Committee of recognized medical doctors;4°no longer fulfills the requirements on the basis of which he/she had become a notary;5°dies.Chapter V
Notarized documents
Section One – Authentication of documents and their probative value
Article 26 – Authentication of contracts
A notary shall authenticate contracts that the law requires to have the authentic status at the time of their signature. Upon request by contracting parties, contracts can be authenticated by a notary although such an authentication is not provided for by Law.Article 27 – Authenticity of a notarized deed
A deed authenticated by a notary according to the provisions of this Law shall be authentic.Where in an authenticated deed, reference is made to a deed previously made; the most recent deed shall contain statement from a party or parties having drawn it up confirming that the two deeds form a whole or the second deed replaces the previous one.Article 28 – Issuance of notarized documents
Documents that require the signature of a notary may be issued by any notary in accordance with the competence conferred upon him/her by this Law unless, otherwise provided for by law.Notarized documents shall be drawn up and issued only at the following place of executing the duties of a notary:1°at the head office of the Ministry in the case of an Officer in charge of notarial duties at the Ministry;2°at the head office of the Government Service in charge of investment promotion in the case of a notary at this Service;3°at the District office in the case of an officer in charge of notarial duties at the District level;4°at the Sector office in the case of an officer in charge of notarial duties at the Sector level;5°at the office of the institution under his/her jurisdiction in the case of an officer in charge notarial duties in land-related matters;6°at the office of the Embassy or in another location they may determine falling within their jurisdiction in the case of an Ambassador and a First Secretary of Embassy;7°in the place of executing his/her duties indicated in his/her application for appointment as notary in the case of a private notary.However, a notary can certify a document in a place other than his/her office when:1°there are serious reasons related to sickness or disability preventing the interested person from reaching his/her office;2°more than ten (10) persons are taking part in the issuance of such a deed;3°the deed requires special solemnities.Article 29 – Probative value of notarized documents
Documents bearing the signature of any notary provided for in this Law shall have the same value on the whole national territory if there is no any other document or court decision nullifying them.Where any notarized document evidences an unquestionable debt due for payment, the court registrar may append enforcement order thereto. Such a deed to which enforcement order is appended shall be issued only once. However, in case of loss or destruction, a new copy may be issued upon the order of the competent court.However, in case of complaint for forgery of the original deed, the enforcement of the deed alleged to be forged shall be suspended by the competent court.Section 2 – Modalities and requirements for drawing up authentic deeds
Article 30 – Modalities for submission of authentic deeds to the notary
Authentic deeds shall be submitted to the notary in at least two copies which shall be collated by the notary. One of the copies shall serve as the original and the others as copies.Article 31 – Drafting of authentic deeds
Authentic deeds issued by the notary must be drafted in a clear and precise manner.Terms, dates and numbers related to the content of the document must be written out in full at least once. They shall contain the concerned party’s name, surname, capacity and domicile.The name of a person having a corresponding abbreviation must be written out in full with indication of his/her address at least once.Article 32 – Changes to the document to be notorized
A document containing additions, explanatory notes, stripes, corrections and references or overwriting shall not be considered authentic unless it is initialed and signed by the notary and the concerned parties and is legibly written.However, any deed drawn up with a pencil shall not be authenticated.Article 33 – Authentic deeds prohibited for the notary
It is prohibited for a notary to receive and issue:1°documents for himself/herself or those in which he/she has a direct interest;2°documents for his/her spouse, parents or parents-in-law, adoptive parents, children, adopted children, siblings who have at least a parent in common with him/her;3°documents inconsistent with the law and good morals.Notarized document contrary to the provisions of paragraph One of this article, items 1° and 2° shall be annulled while those contrary to the provisions of item 3° of the same paragraph shall be void.Article 34 – Conditions for obtaining a notarized document
A notarized document shall be issued once required documents are submitted and fixed fees paid.Any person seeking services from a notary shall pay fees. However, when the person seeking services is the Government of Rwanda or a destitute person with a certificate of indigency, such services shall be delivered free of charge.A Presidential Order shall determine fees to be paid for notarial services. The same Order shall also specify the entity to which such fees are paid.Article 35 – Witness
Upon request by contracting parties, a witness may participate in a notarized deed by signing it. A person for whom a notarized deed is drawn up shall not be a witness thereto.The presence of at least two (2) witnesses shall be mandatory in the following cases:1°authentication of a will or a deed revoking a will;2°when parties declare before the notary that the deed as drafted expresses their will;3°where one of the parties cannot or is unable to sign or affix a fingerprint due to disability.The witness must have reached at least the age of majority.A notary’s spouse, parent, child and sibling who has at least a parent in common with him/her shall not be witnesses before him/ her.A legatee at any level, his/her spouse, parent, child or sibling who has at least a parent in common with him/her shall not be witnesses to any deed relating to a will.A notary shall not authenticate a deed in respect of which he/she has served as a witness.Article 36 – Verification of identity, capacity and signatures
Prior to signing an authentic deed, the notary shall verify the identity of a natural person and other documents attesting to his/her identity.The notary shall ensure that a party has capacity to act legally.During the authentication of deeds, in cases defined by law, the notary shall ensure the authenticity of the persons who affixed signatures on a document, specify in the deed the mode of identification of the person, attest the compliance with formalities required under this Article and mention the date and place where the deed has been received as well as full names of witnesses.Article 37 – Contracts on immovable property
In authenticating contracts on transfer of immovable property, the notary shall verify the transferor’s ownership over the property.Persons registered on the land titles must be present.In case of their absence, they produce legal documents attesting their consent to the transfer.Article 38 – Will
A notary shall append his/her signature or fingerprint to the wills of a natural person with legal capacity. Such wills shall be drawn up in accordance with relevant laws.The duplicate original of the will may be delivered to heirs mentioned in the will once they present the death certificate of the legator when the original copy of the will given to the testator cannot be found.Article 39 – Writing made by a notary
The notary shall write on authenticated deeds, affix his/her signature and the stamp.An Order of the Minister shall determine writing made and signed by the notary in authenticated deeds, the writing on stamps as well as the custody and use of the stamps.Article 40 – Signing notarized deeds
At the time of signing a deed, the notary shall read out the content of the deed and explain to parties the meaning and consequences of the deed they want to perform.A document to be notarized shall be signed by parties and witnesses in the notary’s presence.If, due to disability, a person is unable to append his/her signature or fingerprint to a deed, another person shall do it provided he/ she indicates the reason why the person represented could not append his/her signature or fingerprint thereto.If, for any reason other than disability, a person cannot be available at the time of appending signature or fingerprint to a deed to be authenticated by a notary, his/her representative duly authorized by competent organs shall do it for him/her.Article 41 – A translated deed
If a deed is drawn up in a foreign language other than official languages of Rwanda, a certified translation done by a professional translator shall be attached thereto upon request by the parties. The copy of the original document translated shall bear the same notary’s signature and stamps as the deed itself.Article 42 – Documents to which a notary is not authorized to append his/her signature
The notary shall not be authorized to append his/her signature to a document in case such a document is incompatible with laws.If a person is denied a notary signature on a document, reasons for such refusal shall be furnished to him/her in writing if he/she so requests it in writing.Article 43 – Refusal to return a document to its owner
In case a notary finds out that a document submitted to him/her is not in conformity with the truth, he/she shall have the right to refuse to return it to its owner but shall give him/her a written affidavit certifying that the document is withheld. Such a document shall be submitted to relevant organs.Article 44 – Filing a court case against the decision of a notary
The owner of a document or any other interested person shall file a court case against the decision of a notary if:1°a person considers that the notarized document does not conform either to the truth or to the law;2°the owner of the document or any other interested person considers that there is no legal justification for refusal to notarize the document;3°the notary refuses to return the document to its owner.Such a legal action shall be brought before a competent court of law having territorial jurisdiction in the place of location of the notary’s officeSection 3 – Registration and keeping of authentic deeds issued by a notary
Article 45 – Keeping of authentic deeds issued by a notary
Authentic deeds shall be kept by the notary at the entity where they are drawn up and given to the concerned person if necessary. The entity in which the notary works shall assist him/her in securing an appropriate place for keeping such deeds.The notary shall keep the original of each deed with its own order number in a register in which deeds are kept once received.The legally required period for keeping notarized deeds shall be one hundred (100) years.The notary having custody of the original copy of an authentic deed may issue it to those entitled thereto upon written request.An Order of the Minister shall determine modalities for conservation of authentic deeds by a private notary.Article 46 – Registration of authentic deeds of a notary
The notary shall maintain a directory of all authentic deeds he/she receives. The directory shall be entered in columns. Deeds shall be entered therein without any blank space or interval. All notarized deeds, with the exception of wills, shall be recorded under a single directory.Each inclusion in the directory of authentic deeds shall comprise the following information:1°number, date, nature and summary of the content of the deed;2°names of all parties for natural persons, their place of residence and domicile;3°business name and place of the head office of a company as well as names of its legal representatives;4°a document attesting the identity of a natural person or that of his/her representative;5°the amount of their emoluments;6°signature of the recipient of the deed;7°signatures of witness, if any.Article 47 – Register of wills
The notary competent to authenticate wills and deeds revoking wills, must keep a register of wills.Article 48 – Issuance of extract of notary’s register
The notary may issue, upon request by the person for whom a notarized deed was drawn up or the competent organ, an extract of notary’s register.Section 4 – Authentication of signatures by notary
Article 49 – Authentication of signatures
A notary shall authenticate signatures affixed on documents.Deeds whose signatures are authenticated shall be authentic.While authenticating signatures, the notary shall verify especially the following:1°identification of the persons who sign;2°legal status and capacity of the persons who sign;3°authenticity of signatures;4°consistency of the content of the document;5°payment of fees provided for by this Law.The notary shall authenticate signatures on documents, not the content of such documents.Article 50 – Authentication of signatures on contracts related to immovable property
Authentication of signatures for inter vivos transfer of rights on lands and other immovable property shall be subject to verifications and particular formalities provided for by Article 37 of this Law.Article 51 – Nullification of a notarized deed
Any deed authenticated by a notary in violation of the law shall be nullified by a competent court.Article 52 – Certification of a power of attorney
The competent notary shall be qualified to certify the authenticity of a power of attorney issued to one or more persons in order to act on behalf of one or more persons.The power of attorney shall be considered as an agreement irrespective of its intended purpose.The certification shall be done in accordance with the provisions of article 49 of this Law.Article 53 – Number of copies submitted to the notary
There shall be presented to the notary at least two (2) copies of a contract, a will, a power of attorney or any other document to be authenticated.One of the copies shall be kept at the notary’s office.Section 5 – Probative value of deeds notarized by a foreign notary
Article 54 – Probative value of deeds notarized by a foreign notary
Deeds notarized by a foreign notary shall have the same probative value as in their country of issuance.The proof of their authenticity shall result from their confirmation by the Embassy based in Rwanda of the country where the deed was issued.Such a deed shall also be authenticated by relevant services within the Ministry in charge of foreign affairs.Deeds which are not authenticated in accordance with the provisions of Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be accepted only if it is provided for by the law or by the treaties or international agreements ratified by Rwanda.In case of treaties and international agreements, the execution of such deeds shall be governed by the provisions of such treaties or agreements.Article 55 – Notarial services for Rwandan nationals, enterprises and organizations governed by foreign law
Rwandan nationals in foreign countries who need their documents to be notarized, shall go before the Ambassador or the First Secretary of Embassy in the absence of the Ambassador.Representatives of enterprises and organizations governed by foreign law who need their documents to be notarized, can seek such service to the notary from their country, the Ambassador or the First Secretary of Embassy in the absence of the Ambassador.However, a foreign notary cannot authenticate contracts on transfer of immovable property located in Rwanda.Article 56 – Appeal against notarial matters-related decision made by Ambassador or First Secretary of Embassy
Appeal against notarial matters-related decision made by Ambassador or First Secretary of Embassy as regards his/her refusal to provide notarial services or return of the documents shall be made in compliance with laws governing Rwanda’s diplomatic missions.Chapter VI
Transitional and final provisions
Article 57 – Notaries in office before the publication of this Law
Notaries in office before the publication of this Law in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda shall remain in office.However, notaries who do not fulfill the conditions provided for in this Law shall be required to fulfill such conditions within twelve (12) months.Article 58 – Drafting, consideration and adoption of this Law
This Law was drafted in French, considered and adopted in Kinyarwanda.Article 59 – Repealing provisions
The Decree of 17 November 1953 relating to notarized deeds and all prior legal provisions contrary to this Law are hereby repealed.Article 60 – Commencement
This Law shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Rwanda.History of this document
29 May 2014 this version
Commenced
21 May 2014
Assented to