Chief Editor's Note on Notaries in the Brics Countries

• Author: D. Maleshin
• Position: Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)
• Pages: 4-5

BRICS LAW JOURNAL Volume IV (2017) Issue 3

CHIEF EDIToR’S noTE on noTaRIES

In THE BRICS CounTRIES

DMITRY MALESHIN,

Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russia)

DOI: 10.21684/2412-2343-2017-4-3-4-5

Recommended citation: Dmitry Maleshin, Chief Editor’s Note on Notaries in the

BRICS Countries, 4(3) BRICS Law Journal 4–5 (2017).

The Notary plays an important role in the legal systems of many countries. The

profession has a long history, for the rst notaries are known from Roman times, and

their prototypes extend even further back in time to Babylon and Egypt.

There are two dierent main types of notary in our modern times: the Latin type

and the type found in the common law system. The Latin type of notary is usually

found in the countries with a civil law system. The main dierence between the

two types concerns the role of the notary in jurisprudence and the competences

the notary has. Civil law notaries have huge competence in different areas of

jurisprudence, while common law notaries are limited in competence and notarize,

that is, attest to as an impartial witness, signatures and copies of documents.

In the BRICS countries, notaries come in both types. In Brazil, Russia and China they

are members of the International Union of Latin Notaries, whereas in South Africa and

India they act within their capacities according to the common law system.

In Brazil, the notary is supervised by the National Council of Justice. The local

judiciary is also responsible with regard to the activities of notaries. It adopts the local

rules for the notaries and organizes examinations to enroll them in the profession.

There are around 20,000 notaries in Brazil. At least one notar y oce should be

organized in each local region.

There are six dierent categories of notaries in Brazil: (1) notary of individuals

registration; (2) notary of real estate registration; (3) notary of documents registration;

(4) notary of legal entities registration; (5) notary of maritime registration; and

(6) notary of notes. The competence of notaries in Brazil is extensive. They register