Juridical Acts – Authentic Act
Art. 1833. Authentic Act. A. An authentic act is a writing executed before a notary public or other officer authorized to perform that function, in the presence of two witnesses, and signed by each party who executed it, by each witness, and by each notary public before whom it was executed. The typed or hand-printed name of each person shall be placed in a legible form immediately beneath the signature of each person signing the act.
B. To be an authentic act, the writing need not be executed at one time or place, or before the same notary public or in the presence of the same witnesses, provided that each party who executes it does so before a notary public or other officer authorized to perform that function, and in the presence of two witnesses and each party, each witness, and each notary public signs it. The failure to. include the typed or hand-printed name of each person signing the act shall not affect the validity or authenticity of the act.
C. If a party is unable or does not know how to sign his name, the notary public must cause him to affix his mark to the writing.
Art. 1835. Authentic act constitutes full proof between parties and heirs An authentic act constitutes full proof of the agreement it contains, as against the parties, their heirs, and successors by universal or particular title. The presumption of its validity is, however, rebuttable, ‘through credible and competent evidence that the act is not what it appears to be on its face. An act that fails to be authentic because of the lack of competence or capacity of the notary public, or because of a defect of form, may still be valid as an act under private signature. C.C. art. 1834. See also discussion in Chapter 7 under The de-facto notary doctrine. For example, if a purported authentic act is challenged on the basis that the purported notary lacks the qualifications to execute the act as a notary, the act is not necessarily invalid. It may be valid as a private act that can be proven by acknowledgment. In such a case, the purported notary to the original invalid authentic act could still be a witness to the instrument as a private act. Nevertheless, an act under private signature, though acknowledged, cannot substitute for an authentic act when the law prescribes such an act. C.C. art. 1836.
