Amman, Jan 28 (Petra) -- The Lower House overwhelmingly voted on Wednesday to pass an amendment to the notary public law of 2025 during a session chaired by Speaker Mazen Qadi, and attended by members of the government team.

The amendments to the 14-article bill aim to improve the quality of public services provided to citizens through allowing notaries public to process transactions submitted from outside the Kingdom electronically. It also permits the use of electronic means in notary public transactions, granting them the same legal standing as paper-based transactions.

Under the amendments, the notary public's jurisdiction will be expanded to include all governorates, regardless of the jurisdictional rules of the court to which they are affiliated. This will reduce the time, effort, and costs for citizens and service recipients, enabling them to complete their transactions electronically or at the nearest available location.

A key amendment was Article 20 of the original law, which reads as follows: First, The word (its files) is deleted and replaced with the phrase (its records or any electronic means). Second, the phrase (and from the head of the court or the justice of the peace) at the end is deleted and replaced with the phrase (and from the minister or the head of the court or the justice of the peace, as the case may be).

Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, Abdul-Munim Oudat, commented that Article 20 is entirely different from previous ones.

"The original procedure stipulates that the transaction should be in the possession of the notary public and should not be given to anyone else, he said." However, he clarified, "Since the notary public is located within the Ministry of Justice, it has become necessary for the Minister of Justice to retain a certified copy of the transaction until the original arrives." Article 20 of the original law states: "The notary public is prohibited from handing over to any person the original documents kept in their files. When there is a need to hand over the original based on a decision from the court, he must give the original temporarily, but on the condition that he keeps a certified copy of it from him and from the head of the court or the Justice of the Peace." //Petra//SS