Brussels, 15/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - The first congress of EU civil law notaries, organized by the Conference of Notaries of the European Union (CNEU), was held in Rome on November 10-11, attended by nearly 2,000 participants, including Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, and Franco Frattini, Vice President of the European Commission.
“This conference represents an opportunity to sensitize all European civil law notaries to the key issue of legal safety, but also to make our viewpoints known among certain European Commission civil servants unfamiliar with the different aspects of our profession,” commented Mr. Claude Jacquet, the conference president. During the opening ceremony, Silvio Berlusconi told the notaries, “You guarantee legal safety and the rule of law in Europe.” “You have an important contribution to make in the construction of a European Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, and you help create some proximity between citizens and the European institutions,” said Franco Frattini to all notaries present at the conference. Mr. Paolo Pasqualis, the conference rapporteur, added, “In the last five years, the CNEU has made major contributions to progress in the legal safety arena”, notably by adopting the regulation to set up a European executive body for undisputed accounts receivable, putting an end to exequatur (EUROPE n° 9055), brainstorming on succession rights (EUROPE n° 9041) and European contract rights, and creating several EU regulations on the jurisdiction, recognition and mutual enforcement of notarial deeds. The discussions in Rome on the European legal and judicial area were also an opportunity to highlight success stories of Latin law vs. Anglo-Saxon law. According to Paolo Piccoli, president of the CNEU, “Every year, the United States spends $65 billion in justice administration costs, or roughly 2.6% of GNP. In contrast, in our Latin system, the same costs amount to just 0.6%”.
Another important subject raised at the conference was “e-notarial” services. Cyberdoc, the online registry of wills and the register of personal guarantees are just some of the examples used to illustrate how European notaries are developing and using new information technologies. “We still have to be sure we can deliver the same high legal safety standards our citizens are accustomed to”, commented Hansjörg Brunner, a representative for Austrian civil law notaries. Civil law notaries have already agreed to participate in i2010, an initiative launched by the European Commission.
Franco Frattini supports “closer collaboration between the European Commission and European notaries”, but also “the continued efforts to simplify EU legislation, particularly in the area of contractual obligations”. In favour of greater deregulation, the Commissioner also suggested that notaries, like other independent professions, should be able to “provide fast, efficient service”. Silvio Berlusconi even mentioned the “commercial development” of notarial services in the future. Sandra De Waele, from the Commission's Competition DG, pointed out that, in her opinion, “the current regulations applying to the consumer and society in general are outdated”. In attempt to placate detractors, Ms. De Waele confirmed that “the Commission is not in favour of massive deregulation but rather a thought process designed to improve the current regulatory system.” The five main categories of potentially restrictive regulations for independent professions include required fee levels, recommended fee levels, advertising rules, entry conditions and rights, and general rules governing company structure and multidisciplinary practices. That being said, CNEU notaries would like to remain protected from cross-border competition. “Notarial law is not to be peddled. Its purpose is to provide a balance between safety and justice”, asserted Mr. Claude Jaquet, who also added that “notaries have a special status as public officers which differentiates them from other independent professions.” According Manuel Medina Ortega, Spanish Socialist MEP, “Greater market freedom should not lead to the destruction of institutions. Therefore, notarial services should be exempt from measures imposed by the service directive.”