The rules for notarial acts must be carried out in a strictly defined sequence, without any initiatives and innovations on the part of the performers. All the nuances of this process are regulated by a number of regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation. However, in some cases, you still have to deviate from the rules. Such a situation can arise if and only if the basic rules for notarial acts defined by national legislation are contrary to international provisions. In order to avoid conflicts with foreign partners, it is allowed (and even recommended) to be guided by international agreements. It is difficult for a person who does not have a legal education to immediately understand all the nuances. This article will come to the rescue. It contains in an accessible language the basic rules for notarial acts.
Where can notarized acts be performed?
The law does not establish the exact territorial characteristics of structures and buildings in which legally relevant procedures can be carried out. In accordance with the rules for notarial acts, the latter can be carried out by absolutely any notary public who has the appropriate permission.
However, there are exceptions to this rule. So, for example, the execution and issuance of documents on the right of ownership can only be done by notaries that are authorized to carry out this activity. In addition, sometimes the physical and legal addresses of a notary's office can be rigidly set by separate regulatory legal acts. These exceptions to the rules also include inheritance. In this case, in accordance with the rules for the performance of certain types of notarial acts, paperwork and control of legality falls on the notary office, which serves the place of receipt of the inheritance. Only the district notary office is authorized to accept the relevant applications from the heirs.
In a number of small villages and cities of Russia there are no notary offices. What should people do in this case? Legislatively secured the right for certain officials of local administrations to carry out a number of notarial acts, ranging from issuing wills and powers of attorney to certifying signatures. In addition to all of the above, these officials are empowered to draw up documents intended for presentation outside the state. A number of notarial actions may be carried out by employees of embassies and diplomatic missions of the Russian Federation abroad.
Under what circumstances can a notary refuse a applicant?
It is clear that a notary can not only refuse, but he is obliged to do so when the notarial act is contrary to the norms of the law, is a criminal intent. Of course, a notary public cannot perform actions for which he does not have authority.
The most common reason for refusal is to identify inconsistencies in violation of the requirements of the current legislation during paperwork.
The notary may also not consider and give a move to the application for notarial actions received from a legally incompetent citizen. In such cases, the interests of a citizen with disabilities should be represented by a guardian.However, if the relevant documentation is missing or not properly executed, the notary is also obliged to refuse to carry out notarial acts.
In some cases, a notary refuses to perform a notarial procedure for legal entities. The reasons can be very different. Including inconsistency of the stated purpose with the charter of the organization.
The claimant has the right to complain to the notary and demand a written explanation and clarification of the reasons for the refusal to conduct notarial acts. The notary is obliged to give an answer as soon as possible, explain the mechanism and procedure for challenging the decision.
In what cases can a notarial procedure be prolonged?
In accordance with the current regulatory legal acts on the approval of the rules for notarial acts by notaries, in some cases, the duration of the procedure can be extended. However, good reasons are needed for this (the need for the notary to require additional information to make a fair and lawful decision, waiting for an official opinion from experts, the need to obtain documentary evidence of the absence of claims from all interested parties, and so on).
The maximum term for transferring a decision cannot exceed one month. In the event that after a month the requirements and comments of the notary have not been taken into account, he is entitled to initiate a refusal to conduct the procedure.
The rules for notarial operations in some cases establish shorter periods. In particular, when challenging a notary’s decision in court, the completion of the procedure may be delayed for up to ten days to clarify the information. In the event that the court considers the complaint substantiated, the decision is suspended for an indefinite period.
Registration of notarial acts
In accordance with the current legislation, any notarial action is mandatory to be entered into the state register and registered in the journal of the notary's office. Each entry corresponds to a specific notarial act and has its own serial number. This figure is indicated as a reference when certifying and issuing documents.
Paperwork should be done in the state language - Russian. The use of any foreign languages is unacceptable. Therefore, if it is necessary to carry out notarial acts using documents of foreign origin, a certified translation into Russian is filed with them.
Identification
In accordance with the rules for notarial acts, notaries must necessarily carry out the identification of the person who filed the application. This procedure is also carried out in relation to representatives of interests of individuals and legal entities who have applied for a legal action.
To prove his identity, the applicant must provide the notary with his civil passport or a substitute document (residence permit). Only after any doubts disappear, the notary can initiate the procedure. The rules for notarial acts allow the notary to carry out the identification procedure of the applicant both on a military ID (this applies to persons who serve in the Armed Forces) and on the birth certificate of a minor child with passports of his parents. When applying to a notary public, a citizen of another country must provide him with a residence permit of a standard form or his national passport with the corresponding mark of the Department for Migration and Citizenship of the Ministry of the Interior.
How is the citizen’s legal capacity checked?
It should be noted that the mechanism for checking the legal capacity of all participants is approximately the same.So, the rules for notarial acts in the Republic of Kazakhstan (the Republic of Kazakhstan) and in Russia establish a unified procedure for checking legal capacity, as well as legal capacity.
In order to make sure that each of the participants in the process has reached the age of civil legal capacity, the notary is obliged to ask for a document confirming this fact, indicating the age of the citizen.
The procedure and rules for performing notarial actions also require that the notary pay attention to the mental state and adequacy of all participants. After all, if a person is recognized as incapable as a result of mental disorders, then his interests should be represented by a guardian appointed by the court. There is also such a thing as limited legal capacity. A person may be recognized as having limited legal capacity if he is addicted to drugs or is ill with alcoholism. The actions of such a citizen can be directed against his own family. In our country, there is a well-developed mechanism for depriving a given group of citizens of certain rights. Such a person of his own free will can make only small domestic transactions. Large (sale of housing, land, and so on) can only be carried out with the knowledge and permission of his trustees.
In the case when the applicant or participant in the process is a person with disabilities (deafness), a sign language interpreter is involved who is able to explain in sign language what the document is talking about. In such cases, the notary makes appropriate notes in the document.
How documents are signed: basic principles and rules
The performance of a notarial act ends with the signing of all participants in the process. After the notary compiled the text of the document, he is obliged to reproduce it aloud to those present. Then the participants sign the document. A notary must follow this process. If a person is illiterate or cannot sign personally as a result of injury, then another person can sign for him (on behalf of). Moreover, the document must indicate the reason why a person could not sign it personally.
What are the requirements for documents?
Without providing a package of documents, it is not possible to conduct any type of notarial actions. The rules for their implementation and execution require that the applicant provide the notary with confirmation of the information specified in the application.
If the document has traces of corrections, additions, cleanings, then the notary will not accept them for consideration. Moreover, he will be obliged on duty to contact the law enforcement authorities with the aim of conducting an audit. This can lead to enormous problems for an unscrupulous applicant. Documents that were written using a slate pencil are also not accepted.
If a mistake or inaccuracy was made due to the fault of the organization that issued the document, then this organization must either make corrections or draw up a new document taking into account the comments. If the document is voluminous and takes several pages, then all of them must be flashed.
Features of notarization
The certification label is one of the most important and basic types of notarial acts. The rules for this procedure must be strictly observed by all parties. Notary certification is necessary in order to certify the authenticity of a photocopy of a document or translation from a foreign language, the authenticity of signatures. When the notary puts a signature and a personal seal on the document, he thereby confirms the legitimacy and respect for the interests of all parties to the transaction.
Photocopy notarization is perhaps the most common notarial operation. For its implementation, the applicant must pay the established amount of state duty.The notary confirms with his signature the fidelity of photocopies of various documents issued by state institutions or legal entities. If a copy of the document is notarized, then this indicates its full compliance with the law of the Russian Federation. In some cases, the applicant requests a certified copy of the document. In principle, this is possible, but only if the first copy is notarized in the prescribed manner. If the first copy is certified by a specialist of the company that issued the document, then the notary also cannot have doubts about its authenticity, and he, accordingly, can certify the copy.
When notarizing a translation of a document from one language into another, the notary, in fact, does not certify the translation itself, but confirms the authenticity of the translator's signature. Moreover, the specified specialist in translations from foreign languages must be in the appropriate specialized base and have permission to provide such services. Therefore, when contacting a translation agency, you must first of all be interested in whether their texts are legally significant.
It should be noted that the text of the certification has a certain structure and form approved by the Ministry of Justice. A notary cannot depart from this rule.
In what cases are restrictions imposed on the right to carry out notarial acts?
In short: the basic rules for performing notarial acts are not allowed to a notary to perform actions on his own behalf and in personal interests (as well as in the interests of close relatives). This position is justified. After all, a lawyer is also a person. And it is unlikely that he will be able to impartially consider the issues on which his personal well-being or the well-being of his family members depends.