Monday, May 20, 2013

Contract; Social Justice

When a party enters into a covenant with another, he must perform his obligations with fealty and good faith. This becomes imperative where such party has been given a grant, such as land, under the land reform laws. While the tenant is emancipated from the bondage of the soil, the landowner is entitled to just compensation for the deprivation of his land. Authoritative pronouncements that farmer-beneficiaries cannot be faulted in non-payment of the fixed price agreed upon between them and the landowner under the honest belief that they (farmers) are now vested with absolute ownership of the land and that they cannot be expected to understand the legal implications of the existing lien/encumbrances annotated on their respective titles, appears to be anchored not on legal ground. "Ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith." 

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Notarial Act

A Notary Public is disqualified from performing a notarial act if he is a spouse, common-law partner, ancestor, descendant, or relative by affinity or consanguinity of the principal within the fourth (4th) civil degree. Violation of this proscription, however, cannot be a sufficient ground for disbarment. In one case the Supreme Court imposed a reprimand on the erring lawyer and disqualification to perform notarial act for a period of three (3) months.

Notary Public

Engaging in the practice as notary public without having been properly commissioned by the Court violates the rules on Notarial Practice. The practice of law is embued with public interest and that a lawyer owes substantial duties not only to his client, but also to his brethren in the profession, to the courts, and to the nation. The duties of notaries public are dictated by public policy and impressed with public interest. Notarization is not a routinary, meaningless act, for it converts private document to a public instrument, making the document admissible in evidence without the necessity of preliminary proof of its authenticity and due execution.