Mr. David Adamsasked the Undersecretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that no Moslem Arab is allowed to practice as a notary public for foreign documents in the Holy Land and that the large Moslem population is thereby at a disadvantage; why no advocate is given a licence to practise as a notary public for certifying documents intended for foreign countries unless he satisfies the High Commissioner that he has been called to the English Bar; and whether he will give immediate effect to the draft Notary Public (Foreign Documents) Ordinance, published in the "Jerusalem Gazette" on 1st July, 1932?
§ Mr. George HallIt is not the case that Moslem Arabs are debarred from practising as foreign notaries public in Palestine. But the Notaries Public (Foreign Documents) Ordinance provides that licences to practise may be granted only to barristers, solicitors, or notaries public of the United Kingdom: this limitation was imposed because the ordinance was enacted for the purpose of constituting notaries public for foreign documents for the sole purpose of taking over the functions which before the last war were performed by the British Consulates. It was considered right that the exercise of these functions, which involves only a small volume of work, mainly the alteration of affidavits, powers of attorney, and similar documents for use in the United Kingdom, should be restricted to professional persons having United Kingdom qualifications. On further consideration of the draft of the Notaries Public (Foreign Documents) Ordinance published in the "Gazette" of the 1st July,2266W 1932, which enabled licences to be granted to barristers, solicitors, or notaries public of any part of His Majesty's Dominions (which would not include Protectorates or Mandated Territories), it was decided that the original grounds still held good and that the Bill should not therefore be proceeded with.