A solicitor witness the signing of a document by video conferencing
Generally, the view is that a solicitor should not witness signatures via video conferencing. The law on witnessing a signature via video conferencing is uncertain. The law is silent as to the circumstances when this kind of witnessing will be legally valid. Watching someone sign a document on a screen when the person signing is not in the same room as the witness, is unlikely to be considered “in the presence of”.
It is difficult for the witness to be sure that the document that is subsequently sent to him for attestation is the same document he saw being signed on the screen.
Nevertheless, as the issue of whether the witnessing of a signature via video conferencing will be legally valid is a matter of law, the CPC suggests that any solicitor who wishes to witness a signature via video conferencing should seek independent legal advice.
The solicitors are to take cognisance of certain contracts where there might not be a statutory imposed obligation of witnessing signatures based on the wordings of “in the presence of”.
In such cases, subject to agreement of the parties, witnessing signatures via video conferencing can be a possibility but as mentioned above, this is a matter of law and CPC suggests that any solicitor who wishes to witness a signature via video conferencing should seek independent legal advice.
