Queenstown 2016

Notaries from across the world came together “Under the Southern Cross” at the 6th Conference of the Australian & New Zealand College of Notaries which was held in Queenstown on the south island of New Zealand from 6th- 8th October. The conference was also attended by numerous experts and speakers not only from Australia and New Zealandbut from other jurisdictions including the UK, Germany and The Netherlands.

In a packed and varied programme, delegates were treated to presentations on a wide range of topics including Wills and Succession in Common Law and Civil Law Jurisdictions, the role of Notaries in intellectual property transactions, the Notary & Shipping (presented by Nigel Ready), professional ethics, standards of proof in matters of identity and practise points for Notaries. There was also question and answer sessions on “Everything you wanted to know about Notarial Practice but were afraid to ask!”

I was able to bring greetings from the President of the Society and to mention matters of current topical interest to Notaries in England and Wales. I have attended previous conferences organised by the College but in my own opinion, this was the most successful so far and congratulations are due to our fellow Notaries in Australia and New Zealand who staged the event so well. The breathtaking scenery and surroundings of Queenstown were a bonus.

The next ANZCN conference is due to take place in 2018 in Osaka, Japan.

Michael Lightowler FANZCN (Hon)
Past President of the English Society of Notaries

Pictured right: From left to right, the people are: Stewart Germann, President of the New Zealand Society of Notaries,
Dr Christophe Bernasconi, Secretary General of the Hague Conference on Private International Law,
Michael Lightowler, Past President of the English Society of Notaries,
and Joseph Lukaitis, President & Chairman of the Board of Governors of ANZCN.

Pictured left: Our conference delegates