actuando con el carácter de Fedatario Público = acting in my capacity as certifying public officer

In this specific text I do not believe that "fedatario público" can be translated as "notario públic" since the person certifying this document is not a notary, but rather a "corredor público", a totally different type of officer in Mexico. "Fedatario público" as used in this text as a generic term encompassing several types of officers who may certify public documents ("que ostentan la fe pública"), including both "notarios públicos" (who usually certify private documents, i.e., "elevar a escritura pública") and "corredores públicos" (who generally certify commercial documents). In Spain under certain circumstances, consuls and court clerks ("secretarios judiciales") are also "fedatarios públicos".

The problem is that often "fedatario público" is used when referring to a "notario público", and many dictionaries reflect this meaning, ignoring that notaries are not the only public officers who are "fedatarios públicos."

Here are several examples from Mexican government and academic sources as well as legal portals that illustrate that "fedatario público" is a generic category to which both "notarios públicos" and "corredores públicos" belong:

Consulta : Diferencias entre corredor publico y notario
--Los corredores publicos solamente pueden dar fe en actos de comercio y carecen de facultades para expedir certificaciones en las que se otorguen poderes para careditar personalidad, estas facultades son esclusivas de notario pùblico...
--CORREDOR PUBLICO es un FEDATARIO FEDERAL, que puede ejercer en toda la plaza a donde está asignado. NOTARIO PUBLICO es un FEDATARIO MUNICIPAL, cuyo ejercico está limitado al territorio que le ha sido asignado. Para ser CORREDOR PUBLICO es necesario realizar un examen ante la Secretaría de Economía del Gobierno Federal quien es la facultada para otorgar la patende de Corredor. Para ser NOTARIO PUBLICO, en muchos Estados se dan las Notarías a los compadres o a los compromisos políticos; en otros Estados se lleva a cabo un examen de oposición que le es practicado en muchos casos por la Secretaría de Gobierno del Estado, la autorización para ejercer como Notario lo otorga el Gobierno del Estado o el de la Ciudad de México, en el caso del D.F.
http://www.mexicolegal.com.mx/consultas/r23954.htm

La función del Corredor Público es mucho más amplia que la de un Notario ... al exigirle al Fedatario Público su inscripción y registro en Unidades de ...
realidadjuridica.uabc.mx/realidad/contenido-publico.htm

Sector Público. Como ministro de la Suprema Corte de Justicia, magistrado, juez o cualquier otro ... Como fedatario público (notario o corredor público). ...
www.udem.edu.mx/profesionales/lde/campo/

Copia certificada ante fedatario público (notario o corredor público) del acta constitutiva que acredite al solicitante como una persona moral o una ...
www.cft.gob.mx/cofetel/tmp/CFT12171.pdf

G) FEDATARIO PUBLICO: El nombre y número del Notario o Corredor Público. H) VIGENCIA.- Señalar el plazo de vigencia del poder otorgado. ...
www.cnbv.gob.mx/recursos/Acuerdo RUPA SHCP Mayo 29 2003.pdf -
... ante la fe de notario público, corredor público titulado, o cualquier otro fedatario público y podrán inscribirse en el Registro Público de Comercio, ...
www.cnbv.gob.mx/noticia.asp?noticia_liga=no&com_id=0&sec_id...








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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-09-01 20:16:51 GMT)
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Definitions of "fedatario":

Fedatario--Denominación genérica aplicable al notario u otros funcionarios que gozan de fe pública.
("Diccionario Básico Jurídico", Granada: Editorial Comares, 5th ed., 1997.)

Fedatario-El que da fe o testimonio oficial de un hecho. Denominación genérica aplicable a toda persona depositaria de la fe pública, como los Notarios, Corredores de Comercio, Agentes de Cambio y Bolsa, etc.
("Diccionario Jurídico Colex", Madrid: Colex, 2nd. ed., 2003.)

The Cabanellas/Hoague ("Butterworth's Spanish-English Legal Dictionary", 1991) offers the following (in my opinion) correct rendering:

Fedatario--person authorized to authenticate documents pursuant to FE PÚBLICA

Fe Pública--legal authority granted to notary publics, judicial clerks, stock brokers, special notary publics (escribanos), consuls and other functionaries to authenticate or certify the authenticity of documents.




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Note added at 19 hrs (2006-09-02 12:20:15 GMT)
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To add a comment to Miguel's option:

I considered and then excluded the UK expression "commissioner for oaths" as an option for "fedatario público" for several reasons.

Here are definitions of "commissioner for oaths":

--A person appointed by the Lord Chancellor to administer oaths or to take affidavits. By statute, every solicitor who holds a practicing certificate has the powers of a commissioner of oaths.
(Oxford Dictionary of Law, 5th ed., 2002)

--Solicitors who administer oaths, e.g., to those making affidavits.
L.B. Curzon, Dictionary of Law, 6th ed., Pearson-Longman, 2002.

If we are seeking a possible translation for "fedatario público", first (and once again) I think that it is important not to ignore the fact that "fedatario público" is a generic umbrella term for any of several types of public officials who hold powers to certify documents ("fe pública"). Thus, a "commissioner of oaths" might be one type of public official who can be considered a "fedatario público", but the expression "commissioner for oaths" certainly would not include all officials holding such powers (notaries public, consuls, court clerks, etc.)

Second, the powers of a "corredor público" and other "fedatarios públicos" (especially "notarios") are much broader than just administering oaths and taking affidavits.

And, third, since every certified practicing solicitor in the UK can act as a "commissioner for oaths," I believe it would be quite misleading to translate "fedatario público" as "commissioner of oaths," since in Mexico (and in Spain, Argentina, etc.) only a limited number of public officials "gozan de fe pública".

In other respects, for me the real problems in translating this text are twofold:

1) how to translate "corredor público", an official who is NOT a "notario público" in Mexico

2) how to translate "fedatario público" to reflect that in this specific context the expression does not refer to a "notario público", but rather to another category of public officer who can certify documents (in this case a "corredor público.")