Ministry of Justice initiates changes in Notary law
By Liza Mchedlidze
Tuesday, October 6
The Ministry of Justice of Georgia has already initiated amendments in the Law on Notary through which, after passing relevant exams, an individual will not be appointed as a notary if he does not provide notary service in mountainous regions or in such communities where locals have no access to the necessary service during three years.
A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the government to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents.
There are 252 notary bureaus currently in Georgia: 146 of them are located in capital Tbilisi; 12 in western seaside town Batumi; 11 in the western city of Kutaisi. Only 86 notary bureaus serve the interests of the other parts of the country, the Ministry of Justice announced.
The Ministry stressed that in major cases, notaries refrain from performing in mountainous regions or in a wide range of Georgian municipalities, because of a lack of income and increased expenditures which would be incurred if they were to open offices in remote areas.
In order to support the notaries in less populous areas, the Notary Chamber of Georgia, the state body protecting the interests of notaries, will financially support them over the course of the next three years.
If the notary decides to stay in the same area after the expiration of the three-year term, the Chamber will continue to provide financial assistance.
The Chamber will also return the cost of taking the exam to become a notary, a total of 150 GEL, to the future notaries who successfully pass the tests.
Based on the amendments, the Minister of Justice specified certain areas for increased notary activity. The concrete place for the bureau is to be selected by the notary himself.
After the three-year time elapses, the notary can change the area and move the bureau elsewhere, or stay where he started his job.
The amendments have already been sent to parliament, and the legislative body will discuss them in the near future, the Ministry announced.
