Notary Public and Attestations

Many everyday transactions in Iraq start or end with the notary: a power of attorney to sell a car or deal with a government office, a guarantee for an employee, a commercial undertaking, a translation of a foreign document, or a deposit of rent a landlord refuses to accept. In this section the office of lawyer Ali Barakat in Baghdad, al-Yarmouk, explains Notaries Law No. 33 of 1998, published in Official Gazette issue 3753 on 21/12/1998, so that a visitor knows what is required and what the resulting document does.

Administrative structure

Article 2 establishes the Notaries Department under the Ministry of Justice, headed by a Director General holding a law degree with long judicial or legal practice. Article 5 requires one or more notary offices in each governorate centre, allows offices in districts and sub-districts, and links those to the governorate-centre office. The minister forms, merges or abolishes offices by a statement published in the Official Gazette.

Under article 6 a notary is appointed by ministerial order if holding a first university degree in law and having completed a course at the Judicial Institute. Article 7 lets the minister grant notary powers to a judge, public prosecutor or enforcement officer, or to a judicial investigator or judicial assistant after a set period of practice.

Who else acts as a notary?

Two cases matter in practice:

• The Iraqi consul: article 10 treats the consul as a notary for the Law's purposes, so Iraqis abroad execute powers and undertakings at the consulate.
• A ministry's legal department: article 9 makes the head of legal affairs in a ministry or non-ministerial body, or an authorised legal officer, competent to certify contracts, undertakings and guarantees concerning that body instead of a notary.

An employee signing a study undertaking or guarantee for a ministry may therefore find it certified inside that ministry rather than at a notary office.

The notary's tasks

Article 11 sets the scope:

1. Drafting and authenticating legal transactions, except where a special text provides otherwise.
2. Attesting powers of attorney.
3. Certifying translations after the translator swears to their accuracy.
4. Registering legal transactions concerning machinery.
5. Certifying a guarantor's financial capacity when documenting guarantees.

The text distinguishes drafting, where the notary writes the document directly on prepared forms, from authentication, where the notary certifies parties' signatures or thumbprints on a document they wrote and their acknowledgment of its content. Powers of attorney are covered in powers of attorney before a notary or consul.

A guarantee secured on land

Where a guarantor offers land as security, article 12 sets specific steps: the notary obtains from the land registry proof of ownership, rights and attachments with a recent registry copy; the consent of the requesting body is obtained if debts or attachments are recorded; the notary asks the registry to take the guarantor's acknowledgment and record an attachment; then the notary certifies the guarantee and sends a copy to the registry. Such a guarantee has the effect of a security mortgage. Article 13 deals with cancelling a guarantee at the beneficiary's request or by court judgment, and with long periods of inaction.

Deposits

Under article 14 the notary accepts cash, goods and documents on deposit under conditions the depositor states. A deposit is not released contrary to those conditions, and after notice to the person for whom it was made, the depositor cannot withdraw it without that person's consent or a judgment. A common Baghdad use is a tenant depositing rent that a landlord refuses, explained in eviction for unpaid rent.

Machinery

Article 31 defines machinery as a device or set of devices operating by any non-manual power and used for industrial, agricultural or productive purposes. Article 30 requires registration with the notary in the area where it is located, and legal transactions over it are concluded only through that registration. Buying an industrial generator or factory equipment therefore passes through this step for the sale to take effect.

What the notary may not do

Article 15 bars the notary from:

• drafting or authenticating documents concerning the notary, a spouse or relatives to the third degree, or choosing any of them as witness, expert or translator;
• drafting or authenticating a document contrary to law, public order or morals;
• drafting or authenticating contracts on real estate dispositions, or any act for which the law prescribes a particular form;
• giving record information to anyone other than the parties, except on request of an official or judicial body.

Sales of land take place at the land registry, while a power authorising the sale is made before the notary; see sale by irrevocable power of attorney.

Language and foreign documents

Arabic is the official language for submitting and authenticating documents under article 16, with Arabic or Kurdish in the autonomous area according to the text. The notary may authenticate a foreign-language document after learning its content through a sworn translator. Prepare the foreign document and its translation before the appointment, and arrange a translator willing to take the oath before the notary.

Document procedure step by step

Articles 17 to 28 collect the procedure:

1. Attendance of the parties or lawful representatives, with checks on identity, capacity, standing and authority (article 22).
2. Recording the three-part name, family name and residence (article 18), and identification by approved documents (article 19).
3. Checking the document for forgery or alteration and refusing it where found or where conditions are lacking (article 20).
4. Clear writing without erasure, deletion or blanks (article 21).
5. Reading and explaining the document, then signature, certification, stamping and dating in words and figures (article 23).
6. Keeping the first copy in a general file; copies bearing original signatures are originals (article 17).

Articles 24 and 25 provide for a deaf or mute party and a party unable to sign, with two witnesses. Article 27 lets the notary work outside the office for a legitimate excuse at the parties' request.

Errors, cancellation and executory force

A material error does not affect validity and is corrected under article 41. A document not signed by its parties the same day is voided under article 43. Parties may void it before drafting or authentication under article 44. Afterwards it is cancelled only by court judgment or agreement of the parties, subject to the rules on revoking an agent, under article 45. Article 46 gives such documents executory force unless challenged for forgery, meaning they can be enforced through the enforcement offices without a separate judgment on the underlying right. If the office copy is lost, the original is relied on under the conditions of article 42. Notifications required by notarial work follow the Civil Procedure Law under article 47.

Drafting or authentication: how to choose

For a simple, routine text — a power to deal with an office or a standard undertaking — asking the office to draft it saves time, as the notary uses ministry-approved forms. For a bespoke text, such as a commercial agreement or a detailed power, prepare it in advance and present it for authentication. Either way the notary reads it to the parties and checks their understanding, so preparation does not replace attendance.

The notary and other offices

A notarial document is usually presented elsewhere: the land registry, the traffic directorate, a bank, a court or an enforcement office. Each reads the document within its own competence and may require a recent power or one naming the specific act. Ask the receiving body what it requires before the document is made, and keep an extra certified copy if it will go to more than one body.

Practical tips before the appointment

• Bring official identity documents and any document proving your capacity if acting for another.
• Define the power's scope precisely: type of act, body, duration, and whether the agent may appoint a substitute.
• Do not sign a document with blanks or deletions.
• Keep an original copy and note the document's number and date.

Legal basis and sources

1. Notaries Public Law No. 33 of 1998
2. Civil Code No. 40 of 1951
3. Real Estate Registration Law No. 43 of 1971

Frequently asked questions

Topics in this area

• 01Powers of attorney and attestation before an Iraqi notary or consulIraqi powers of attorney under Notaries Law 33/1998: attendance and identity, reading and signing, foreign documents and translation, the consul as notary, and cancellation.

Always check the text in force and its amendments in the official source.

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