Today, for the first time in my life, I had to get a document notarised.

It seems that this is a rather grand title for having my signature witnessed by a notary.

At least that was all it entailed on this occasion, apart from the document also being the recipient of a rather grand red seal that was duly embossed with the notary’s name and the fact that he is a notary.

Two minutes later and £60 lighter in the pocket, I left wondering how many CPD points I would get if I embarked upon a ‘Become a Notary’ course.

I pondered whether that long-established series of books had a title ‘Teach Yourself to Become a Notary’.

Later that afternoon, a client came in to swear an affidavit.

I got £5 and the notary got £60 for a not too dissimilar function.

At that time, life seemed very unfair.

The reason for this unfairness, it seems, is that the fee for swearing an oath/statutory declaration is fixed by the Commissioners for Oaths (Fees) Order 1993, whereas a notary is not under any such encumbrance.

Since 1993 we have had a bit of inflation. Fuel was 45 pence per litre back then and it is now almost three times that.

Similarly, the Retail Price Index, while not rising to the same extent, has increased from 139 to 232.

Using the above logic, the fee for a swear should have increased from £5 to between £10 and £15.

Just as ILEX is campaigning for parity with solicitors, surely the Law Society should be campaigning for solicitors to have parity with notaries.

The fact that I can now apply to become a notary in Belgium or a host of other European countries gives me little comfort.

I doubt many other solicitors will rejoice at the news either.

I imagine the reaction would be different if the swear fee was increased in line with a notary’s fee.

James Mather,Berkson Wallace, Ellesmere Port