National Assembly Delegate Pham Thi Xuan (Thanh Hoa National Assembly Delegation) contributed comments on a number of controversial contents of the draft Law on Notarization (amended).

On the afternoon of October 25, at the National Assembly House, continuing the 8th Session, under the chairmanship of National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man , the National Assembly held a plenary discussion in the hall on a number of contents with different opinions of the draft Law on Notarization (amended).

Participating in giving comments, National Assembly Delegate Pham Thi Xuan, civil servant of Quan Hoa District Party Committee ( Thanh Hoa National Assembly Delegation) basically agreed with the draft Law and approved the contents of the Report on explanation, acceptance and revision of the draft Law on Notarization (amended).

To further improve the draft Law, delegate Pham Thi Xuan contributed some comments, namely: On the concept of notary (Clause 2, Article 2) and the function of notary (Article 3). Accordingly, the draft Law continues to inherit the current Notary Law on the regulation of the social function of notaries. However, through research, delegate Pham Thi Xuan said that this social function is also one of the unique characteristics of notaries, which is to provide public services authorized by the State to ensure legal safety for transactions. Therefore, it is proposed to attach this function to the explanation of the concept of notary in the direction of transferring the entire content of Article 3, incorporating it into Clause 2, Article 2 and revising it as follows: “2. A notary is a person who meets the qualifications prescribed by this Law, appointed by the Minister of Justice to practice notary and perform a number of certifications according to the provisions of the law on certification.

Notaries provide public services authorized by the State to ensure legal safety for parties participating in transactions; prevent disputes; contribute to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of individuals and organizations; and stabilize and develop the socio-economy.

Clause 4, Article 4 stipulates one of the principles of notary practice as “4. Be responsible before the law and the person requesting notarization for the notarized documents that you perform”. According to delegate Pham Thi Xuan, this is not a principle of notarization practice but an obligation of a notary when practicing notarization. And when comparing with the obligations of a notary, the delegate sees that point k, Clause 2, Article 16 also stipulates almost the same as Clause 4, Article 4, which is “k) Be responsible before the law and the person requesting notarization for the notarized documents that you perform”.

According to the delegate, a provision should not appear in two different clauses in the same document, because it overlaps within the legal document itself. Therefore, it is proposed to remove the provision in Clause 4, Article 4 and keep this provision at Point k, Clause 2, Article 16.

At point l, clause 2, Article 16, which stipulates the responsibility of notaries for the activities of the Notary Office, the draft currently proposes two options:

Option 1: The notary is legally responsible for the activities of the Notary Office of which he is a member or owner of a private enterprise.

Option 2: The notary is legally responsible for the activities of the Notary Office of which he is a member.

According to delegate Pham Thi Xuan, it is not necessary to consider two options in this case, because here the notary public is only responsible before the law for the activities of the Notary Office of which he is a member. In the case of a private enterprise owner, of course the private enterprise owner is responsible for the activities of the office/enterprise of which he is the owner and this content is within the scope of the Enterprise Law; the law also has full provisions on the responsibilities, obligations, and powers of the private enterprise owner. Thus, in this Law, there is no need to assign responsibility to the case where the notary public is the owner of a private enterprise.

Comparing with the overall obligations of notaries in Clause 2, Article 16, the delegate found that points k and l could be combined to make the regulation concise, clear and truly linked to the responsibilities of notaries. Therefore, it is proposed to revise as follows:

“k) Be responsible before the law and before the person requesting notarization for the notarized documents that he/she performs and for the activities of the Notary Office of which he/she is a member".

Quoc Huong

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dbqh-pham-thi-xuan-doan-dbqh-thanh-hoa-tham-gia-gop-y-ve-mot-so-noi-dung-con-y-kien-khac-nhau-cua-du-thao-luat-cong-chung-sua-doi-228621.htm