Comparative law notes
In the US, there are persons who are publicly authorized to witness and certify (with their official stamp) the signature and identity of persons signing documentation. Their task is to witness the person signing the document and checking that person's official identification. These persons are called "notary publics". The process by which notary publics witness and certify the signatures of third parties is only slightly analogous to the Beurkundung process under German law. The Beurkundung process is intended not only to facilitate the witnessing of certain acts, but also to serve evidentiary purposes and to afford a certain level of legal certainty of the parties to the transaction. This is done by retaining a legally trained official - a German Notar (who has full German lawyer-judge qualifications) - to review the documentation and provide explanations and instructions regarding the notarised act. *** We recommend inserting the word "German" immediately before the English translation and adding the German source term "Beurkundung" in parenthesis immediately following that English translation: "German notarial recordation (Beurkundung)"
