Church records or registers of entries therefrom or certificates of the character mentioned in 4219, in order to be admissible in evidence shall be proved by the original or by a copy thereof certified by the clergyman or other person having the custody of the original, provided that the genuineness of the signature of the clergyman or other person issuing such certificate or certifying a copy of the same, or of such record or register or entries therefrom, and the fact that he is the person having the custody of such record or such register and place or certificate, and that such certificate or copy of such certificate, record, register or entries therefrom was duly issued by the person issuing the same shall be attested either by the bishop, chief priest, president, district superintendent, or other presiding officer of such religious denomination, society or church, under his seal if he has a seal, or by a notary public or other civil officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments or to issue certificates as to the genuineness of signatures and/or the correctness of documents or of copies thereof, under his seal if he has a seal; provided, further, that the fact that such record, register and/or certificate is a document kept in accordance with law or in accordance with the rules, regulations and/or requirements of a religious denomination, society or church may be proved by the certificate of such bishop, chief priest, president, district superintendent, or other presiding officer of such religious denomination, society or church, or of a notary public or other civil officer authorized by law to take acknowledgments and/or issue certificates as the genuineness of signatures and/or the correctness of documents or of copies thereof, under his seal if he has a seal; and provided, further, that the genuineness of the signature and the statutes of such bishop, chief priest, president, district superintendent or other presiding officer of such religious denomination, society, or church and/or of such notary public or other civil officer shall, in any state, territory, possession, commonwealth or Trust Territory of the United States be authenticated as required by the laws of Guam for the authentication of similar civil documents attested to by a Notary Public of such civil jurisdiction, and shall, in a foreign country, be authenticated by the certificate of a minister or ambassador of consul, vice consul or consular agent of the United States in such foreign country.

COL120106
6 Guam Code Ann. EVIDENCE
DIV. 2 PRINCIPLES OF EVIDENCE
CH. 4 WRITINGS

SOURCE: CCP § 1919b modified.

COMMENT: The GRE (Division 1) provide no specific mention of the authentication and admission of church records. However, because such records are of importance on Guam and in the Trust Territory and in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the above two sections are continued in this Division. Church records are neither public records nor purely private records under this Title.

The modification is to being up to date the means of authenticating documents by referencing them to the laws of Guam now in existence and as amended in the future. This Section, in former law, refers to a very formal, antiquated method of authentication.