Legal Practice
Jordanian Lawyer's Right to Authenticate Powers of Attorney
Jordanian law provides an exception allowing a lawyer to authenticate certain private powers of attorney related to representation before specific bodies, while imposing personal liability for the signatures. The exception’s scope and formal limits are set by the Bar Association provisions, interpretive rulings and court practice, and do not extend to some transactions (e.g., land registry dealings) requiring notarial authentication.
Updated: 3 April 2023
Prepared and reviewed by: Ashraf Al-Khawaja
Legal Basis for the Exception
The exception permitting a lawyer to authenticate a client’s signature is grounded in the Bar Association statute, which confines the right to private mandates tied to litigation and rights-assertion before specified bodies. The exception is coupled with a rule making the lawyer personally responsible for the authenticity of the signatures he certifies, requiring careful verification of both the signature and the mandate’s legality.
Permitted Scope of Powers of Attorney and Practical Limits
The lawyer’s authentication authority is limited to private mandates for representing clients in asserting or defending rights before courts (excluding Sharia courts), arbitrators, prosecution offices and administrative bodies. Interpretive rulings have clarified that certain transactions—notably land registration and transfers of immovable property—fall outside this scope and remain subject to notarial or other statutory authentication.
Formal Requirements and Procedural Rules for Authentication
A lawyer must ensure the mandate is in writing, legibly drafted and purpose-specific, and the lawyer should be within the Kingdom when authenticating it. He must verify the identities and data of principal and agent and ensure the mandate’s purpose complies with applicable law. Where a mandate covers multiple court levels, the rules on appearance fees and related payments under the Bar’s provisions apply.
Obligations and Liability Arising from Authentication
The lawyer bears personal liability—civil and potentially criminal—for the accuracy of signatures and statements in the authenticated mandate. Authentication performed beyond the lawyer’s authority or without satisfying formal conditions can render the mandate void or expose proceedings to challenge, as reflected in case law that has rejected powers authenticated in breach of the exception’s limits.
Delegation to Another Lawyer and Its Limits
The law permits a lawyer to delegate in writing another attorney to perform some or all of the tasks entrusted in a specific case, at his own responsibility, unless the original mandate prohibits such delegation. Statutory provisions may exempt this substitution from certain fees, but delegation does not expand the underlying scope of mandates a lawyer is not authorized to authenticate.
Legal notice
Disclaimer: This material is provided for general educational purposes and is based on the original source linked on the page. It does not replace review of official texts or subsequent amendments, nor consultation with a licensed attorney to confirm practical application and procedural details.
Sources and references
Verify the official text and latest amendments before relying on this material professionally.
A related service path
Commercial and civil litigation
If this study is close to your matter, review the service scope and contact the firm to discuss the facts and documents.
Review the related service