Singapore legislation
Clause 59
Clause 59
Certificate of correctness
(1)
The Registrar may reject any application to bring land under the provisions of this Act, or any other instrument purporting to deal with or to affect registered land, unless there is endorsed thereon a certificate by the person acquiring title and a certificate by the person divesting title under this Act that it is correct for the purposes of this Act.
(2)
The certificate by the person acquiring title or divesting title shall imply representations that to the best of the signatory’s knowledge and belief and in so far as he has any reasonable means of ascertaining —
the instrument is made in good faith;
the matters set forth therein are substantially correct; and
in the case of —
a person acquiring title, the person acquiring title thereunder accepts proprietorship and (unless otherwise expressed in the instrument) is of full age and legal capacity; or
a person divesting title, the person divesting title thereunder is the party entitled to divest the interest under the instrument and is of full age and legal capacity.
(3)
The certificate by the person acquiring title shall be signed by the solicitor employed by the party acquiring title under the instrument and the certificate by the person divesting title shall be signed by the solicitor employed by the party divesting title under the instrument except that if a solicitor is not so employed, the certificate shall be signed by the party himself or, in the case of a corporation, by a responsible officer of the corporation.
(4)
Each certificate shall indicate in legible characters the name and capacity of the signatory.
(5)
Where the certificate is signed by any party (including a solicitor who is a party acquiring or divesting title under the instrument), or by an officer of any corporation, divesting or acquiring title, the Registrar may in order to satisfy himself as to the identity and capacity of the signatory require such person to appear before him.
(6)
Any person who falsely or negligently certifies to the correctness of any application, dealing or caveat shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and such penalty shall not prevent a person who may have sustained any damage or loss in consequence of errors or mistakes in any such certified application, dealing or caveat from recovering damages against the person who has certified the same.
(7)
In any instrument which is registered under the provisions of this Act either before or after the commencement of this Act, any reference to “Certificate of Correctness” shall be construed as a reference to a certificate of correctness given pursuant to this section or any corresponding provision in any repealed enactment.
(8)
For the purposes of this section, “solicitor” means a solicitor who has in force a practising certificate issued under the Legal Profession Act [Cap. 161].