National Assembly Delegate of Nghe An Delegation: Banning advertising about notary organizations and notaries is inappropriate

On the afternoon of October 25, the National Assembly worked at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House under the direction of comrade Nguyen Khac Dinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly.

The National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province was led by Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council.

Support the organization and operation plan of notary offices according to the partnership model.

Speaking at the discussion on the draft Law on Notarization (amended), delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the Delegation of National Assembly Deputies of Nghe An province assessed that the draft Law has been carefully studied, absorbed and revised.

However, on the basis that there are still some issues in the draft Law that have different opinions, delegates expressed specific views at the discussion session.

First of all, the Deputy Head of the Delegation of National Assembly Deputies of Nghe An basically agreed that the draft Law does not specifically stipulate the types of transactions that must be notarized because they have been stipulated in specialized laws such as the Land Law, Housing Law, Real Estate Business Law, etc. Instead, it stipulates the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice to "review, update, and post transactions that must be notarized according to the provisions of the law on the electronic information portal" which is appropriate, creating convenience for participants in transactions when carrying out legal procedures.

However, the delegate said that it is not necessary to add the provision that “a transaction that must be notarized is an important transaction that requires a high level of legal security” because the content is qualitative and general, so it is difficult to determine. Furthermore, regarding the form of civil transactions, the conditions for the validity of civil transactions have been stipulated in the Civil Code and other specialized laws.

Expressing her views on the organizational form of a notary office, through studying the draft Law's documents and the practice of organizing notary activities in recent times, based on the two options proposed by the draft Law, delegate Thai Thi An Chung chose the option "notary offices can only be organized and operate according to the partnership model".

According to the delegates' assessment, choosing the above option is to inherit the current Notary Law which is promoting effectiveness, ensuring stability, and better meeting the notarization needs of individuals and organizations.

“Notarization is a public service, so the important requirement is the continuity of service provision. Notary organizations must take long-term responsibility for notarization activities, so if this requirement is not met, it will affect the rights of the parties in the notarized transaction, and affect socio-economic development,” said the delegate from Nghe An.

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung also said that the provision prohibiting notary organizations and notaries from advertising in the mass media about notaries and their organizations in the draft Law is inappropriate; because this is not on the list of products, goods and services prohibited from advertising in the 2012 Advertising Law.

In addition, according to the delegate, Resolution No. 172/NQ-CP dated November 19, 2020 of the Government on the policy of developing the notary profession is "encouraging individuals and organizations to notarize contracts and transactions to ensure legal safety for parties participating in contracts and transactions, contributing to reducing the workload of administrative agencies, reducing staff and state budget expenditures".

Therefore, introducing notary organizations and notaries helps people understand more about notary activities and notary organizations; especially in areas where notary organizations are newly established; facilitating the search for information about notary organizations and notaries.

And when advertising, notary organizations and notaries must also fully comply with the provisions of the law on advertising. In case of violation, they will be handled according to the provisions of the law.

Proposal to study additional rights of notary practice organizations

Regarding the rights of notary organizations, delegate Thai Thi An Chung suggested that the drafting agency study and supplement regulations allowing notary organizations to provide services for procedures for transferring ownership and usage rights to assets that are the subject of notarized contracts and transactions in cases where the person requesting notarization needs to use this type of service.

Because according to the delegate, this is an objective need of many individuals and businesses in real life. However, because the current notary law does not have regulations, this notary "service" is currently performed spontaneously, not publicly, lacking transparency, and not clearly defining the rights and obligations of the parties involved; at the same time, the State also loses tax obligations, because it is often transferred in the form of a contract authorizing an individual of a notary organization to directly perform.

"The addition of this regulation will create favorable conditions for organizations and individuals who require notarization to complete procedures and documents for transferring ownership and property usage rights in the most convenient way," said the delegate.

In addition, the addition of this regulation is to add more tools for notaries to ensure the authenticity and legality of the transactions they notarize.

"This regulation allows notaries or notary organizations to enhance their ability to control the "authenticity and legality of notarized civil transactions", especially "civil transactions invalidated due to forgery" as prescribed in the Civil Code", delegate Thai Thi An Chung analyzed; thereby contributing to reducing underground transactions in economic and social life, significantly reducing disputes and complaints as well as increasing State budget revenue.

The addition of this provision also ensures consistency with the provisions of a number of related laws such as the Law on Property Auction and the Law on Real Estate Business; at the same time, it is consistent with the policy of administrative procedure reform that the Government has identified in Resolution 172 dated November 19, 2020, which is to implement a linkage mechanism for notarization procedures, registration of land use rights, assets attached to land and taxes.