Commissioner of records of surrogate's court, New York county; appointment; salary; duties

§ 2610. Commissioner of records of surrogate's court, New York county; appointment; salary; duties

1. The surrogates of New York county shall appoint a commissioner of records. The commissioner shall appoint, subject to the prior approval of the surrogates, subordinates to assist him in the performance of his duties. The salary of the commissioner and his subordinates shall be fixed by the surrogates and shall be paid out of appropriations therefor made by the city of New York.

2. The commissioner shall examine into the arrangement and condition of the records, wills, documents, books and papers deposited or filed in the office of the surrogate's court of the county of New York and into the condition and sufficiency of the indices thereof. He shall collate and arrange the same in such manner as may be necessary for their restoration and preservation and shall take such steps as may be necessary to provide convenient references thereto and for the examination and use as the public interest and convenience may require. He shall cause copies thereof to be made whenever by reason of age, use, exposure, or any casualty such copies shall in his judgment be necessary and after the copy has been compared with the original it shall be certified by the commissioner and shall thereafter be admitted in evidence and shall be considered for all other purposes with the same effect as the original. The original shall be placed in a suitable enclosure by the commissioner and shall be preserved, properly endorsed and indexed for such examination as may be directed by an order of the court in any action or proceeding in which the accuracy of the copy may be questioned. His duties shall be performed under such conditions and regulations as may be approved by the surrogates and in a manner which shall permit the examination and use of the records, wills, documents, books, papers and indices as the public interest and convenience may require.

3. The office of commissioner of records of the surrogate's court of New York county shall terminate upon the completion of the duties in this section prescribed.