NOTARY IN ITALY

In people's common feelings there is the perception of two essential elements of the notary's role, which already result in even a minor role, for instance when the notary, in a television program, ensures that everything runs smoothly, that no one can cheat.

The first is the trust, which is based on fairness (all parts of the contract are protected), on a high-level legal and tax preparation (as a result of the most severe competition in nature), on its nature as a public official (who shall guarantee the truthfulness and legality of acts).

The second is that the notary shall exercise his function not as an employee of the State, but with a free professional organization, which allows good earnings, compared with as much efficiency and reliability. The rapid preparation of documents and formalities, overcoming the technical difficulties in the short term, as well as the transmission of documents by electronic means to public records, are made possible thanks to very expensive investments in staff and tools and are a guarantee of safety and efficiency for the citizen.

Besides the field of inheritance, at which they are perhaps the greatest experts, notaries are engaged in two key areas: the movement of real estate (houses, offices, land, warehouses, goods essential for individuals and entrepreneurs) and the relevant passages of company activities.

In both cases the use of a notary is required by law to ensure contracts and verbalizations above reproach and to ensure that the private autonomy does not exceed the limits set by the rules of law.

In 1997 Italian notaries were the first professional group to take out an insurance that covered all of its components and became mandatory by law in 2006.

This means that the citizen that contacts a notary is guaranteed to be fully protected even in case of any mistake.

The programmed number in the territory (notaries are limited in number by reason of public function carried out and are linked to their place of assignment, such as judges, to ensure assistance to the whole territory, even the most disadvantaged) is synonymous with quality, as the notaries come to the profession after studying very hard and are recognized among the most qualified legal professionals with high responsibility.

Among those that are able to pass the annual competitions, women by now equal men, and what is even more meaningful, only 17.5 % of the Italian notaries (the lowest percentage of the whole professional panorama) have a family member dedicated to the same profession.