(1) Attesting Solicitor to state his/her name with his/her signature
A Solicitor attesting or witnessing any document shall write/affix his/her name and his/her Bar Council membership number (as specified in his/her practising certificate) clearly with his/her signature.
(2) Virtual or Remote Attestation or Witnessing of Execution of a Document by a Solicitor
Unless physical presence is required by any written law, a Solicitor may virtually or remotely attest or witness the signing or execution of a document. In attesting or witnessing the signing or execution of the document virtually or remotely, the Solicitor shall comply with any prevailing and applicable written law, or in the absence thereof, any conditions as may be determined by the Bar Council from time to time for such purpose.
Conditions determined by the Bar Council, for “Virtual or Remote Attestation or Witnessing of Execution of a Document by a Solicitor” pursuant to Ruling 14.11(2):
(a) In these conditions:
(i) "virtually" or "remotely" are used interchangeably and means the circumstances where the party / parties who sign the document and the attesting Solicitor are not physically present in the same location during the signing of the document;
(ii) "virtually" also means using information or communications technology, and not involving people physically going somewhere;
(iii) "remotely" also means from a distance and without physical contact; and
(iv) "audio visual link" means technology that enables continuous and contemporaneous audio and visual communication between persons at different places, including video conferencing.
(b) Where physical presence is required or prescribed under any written law, the Solicitor must comply with that law. These conditions do not override any specific law on the witnessing or execution of any document.
(c) Even if physical presence is not required or prescribed under any written law, the attesting Solicitor should comply with all applicable laws which may regulate or explain how such documents are to be signed, witnessed, or attested, including the Electronic Commerce Act 2006, and the Digital Signature Act 1997.
(d) A Solicitor shall only attest to the signing or execution of a document conducted virtually or remotely if he/she is satisfied that he/she has:
(i) explicitly identified all signing parties and the documents to be signed via an audio visual link at the time of signing or execution of the document;
(ii) maintained an uninterrupted and continuous sight of the signing parties and the document identified throughout the whole process via the audio visual link;
(iii) witnessed in real time the act of signing by the signing parties on the document identified via the audio visual link without any interruption; and
(iv) ensured that the signing party’s signature, rubber stamp, and/or seal, is affixed on the document identified.
(e) "In real time" means that the audio visual link communication, and remote attestation / witnessing process, must be substantially simultaneous and continuous, ie without any unreasonable interruption, disconnection, or delay in relay, excluding any reasonable or ordinary short delay that is inherent or common to the technology used.
(f) The entire virtual or remote witnessing process must be recorded and saved by the attesting Solicitor, and a copy of such electronic recording shall be kept by the attesting Solicitor for a minimum of three years. Such recording is intended only to be of corroborative evidence, and any loss of such recording shall not necessarily invalidate the remote execution or witnessing of the document.
(g) The electronic recording referred to in paragraph (f) must be reasonably secured in a manner that prevents any subsequent change or modification to that electronic recording.
(h) The attesting Solicitor shall, as soon as practical after witnessing the signing remotely or virtually, send a confirmation by email, instant messaging, or other electronic means, to all signatories, that the document was signed remotely or virtually.
(i) The attesting Solicitor shall endorse on the document attested, words stating clearly that the document was remotely witnessed, and the method adopted, eg:
"This [name of document] was signed [in counterpart (delete if not applicable)] and witnessed over audio visual link on [date], where the witness was physically present at [place] and the document was signed by the signatory physically present at [place]."
(j) The attesting Solicitor should, as soon as practical after attesting the document signed remotely, electronically scan and send by electronic means, the said document, for all signatories to have sight of all signatures on that document.
(Updated as at 27 June 2023)