Parliament passes amendments to differ archaic laws

Amendments to several archaic laws including the Power of Attorneys, Last Will, filing of Caveats more than 100 years old were passed in Parliament today.
 
Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe presenting the amendments in Parliament said that the amendments were proposed after a detailed study on the existing laws.
 
 Among the amendments passed was that a Notary Public could function in future only after obtaining a certification from a senior Notary Public that he possess 10 years of working experience.
 
The Notary Public would also be required to submit an affidavit every year that the duties were performed in a professional manner. Any violation would be liable to criminal action against the offender. 
 
Regarding the Last Will the practice of accepting the signatures of five persons without the service of Notary Public has been scrapped, and it would compulsory to get the certification of a Notary Public.
 
Minister Rajapakshe said that there were thousands of cases pending in courts regarding forged signatures and at some times it has been found that signatures of persons who had already passed away had been placed by forging them.
 
Among the other amendments was that a person filing a Caveat should provide an affidavit that the person has a legal right to the property. He said that was being introduced to ensure that Caveat is not being filed due to personal disputes. 
 
Regarding the Power of Attorney, an amendment was also included that the thumb impression should be placed along with the signature. The Minister said that the objective was to prevent forgery