What are the conditions for a bachelor of law degree to establish notary offices in Vietnam? What are the procedures for establishment of notary offices in Vietnam?
How long does it take for a bachelor of law degree to be appointed as a notary after graduating from university?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 12 of the 2014 Law on Notarization in Vietnam as follows:
Appointment of notaries
1. Those who fully satisfy the criteria prescribed in Article 8 of this Law may request the Minister of Justice to appoint them as notaries. Dossiers of request for appointment as notaries shall be sent to the provincial-level Justice Departments of the localities where the requesters have registered for notarial practice probation.
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3. Within 10 working days after receiving a complete dossier of request for appointment as a notary prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the provincial-level Justice Department shall make a written proposal enclosed with the dossier to the Minister of Justice to appoint the requester as a notary. In case of refusal, it shall reply in writing clearly stating the reason to the requester.
4. Within 30 days after receiving the written proposal and dossier from the provincial-level Justice Department, the Minister of Justice shall consider and decide to appoint the requester as a notary; in case of refusal, he/she shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason to the provincial-level Justice Department and the requester.
Thus, a law graduate who fully meets the criteria specified in Article 8 of the 2014 Law on Notarization in Vietnam has the right to request the Minister of Justice to appoint a notary.
In case a bachelor wishes to become a notary, he must need at least 5 years of law work after obtaining a bachelor's degree in agencies and organizations, and at the same time complete a notary vocational training course and have at least 12 more months of probation at notarial practice organizations.
Thus, a bachelor of law degree needs at least 5 more years after graduating from university to become a notary.
What are the conditions for a bachelor of law degree to establish notary offices in Vietnam? What are the procedures for establishment of notary offices in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)
What are the conditions for a bachelor of law degree to establish notary offices in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 22 of the 2014 Law on Notarization in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Notary offices in Vietnam
1. Notary offices shall be organized and operate in accordance with this Law and other relevant legal documents concerning partnerships.
A notary office must have at least 2 notaries being its partners. Notary offices have no capital contributors.
2. The at-law representative of a notary office shall act as its head. The head of a notary office must be a notary who is its partner and has practiced notarization for at least 2 years.
3. The name of a notary office must contain the words “notary office” followed by the full name of its head or another notary being its partner as agreed by all notaries who are partners, and must not be identical to or cause confusion with those of other notarial practice organizations and violate national historical and cultural traditions, ethics and fine customs.
4. Notary offices must have head offices satisfying the conditions prescribed by the Government.
Notary offices may have their own seals and accounts and shall operate on the principle of financial autonomy with their revenues coming from notarization charges, notarization remuneration and other lawful sources.
5. Notary offices shall use seals bearing no national emblem. Notary offices may have their seals carved and use them after obtaining establishment permission decisions. Procedures and dossiers of request for permission for seal carving and management and use of seals of notary offices must comply with the law on seals.
Thus, according to the above provisions, first of all, a bachelor of law must meet the conditions to be appointed as a notary and concurrently have practiced notarial practice for 02 years or more and satisfy the following conditions:
(1) Conditions on the type of business
According to Clause 1, Article 22 of the 2014 Law on Notarization in Vietnam, the Notary Office is established in the form of a partnership.
However, the Notary Office must have two or more partner notaries. The notary office has no capital contributors.
(2) Conditions on the legal representative of the Notary Office
- The at-law representative of a notary office shall act as its head. The head of a notary office must be a notary who is its partner and has practiced notarization for at least 2 years.
(3) Conditions on the name of the Notary Office
The name of the Notary Office is specified in Clause 3, Article 22 of the 2014 Law on Notarization in Vietnam, specifically:
The name of a notary office must contain the words “notary office” followed by the full name of its head or another notary being its partner as agreed by all notaries who are partners, and must not be identical to or cause confusion with those of other notarial practice organizations and violate national historical and cultural traditions, ethics and fine customs.
(4) Conditions for the headquarters of the notary office
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 17 of Decree No. 29/2015/ND-CP stipulating the headquarters of the Notary Office as follows:
The private notary office must have a specific address, working places for notaries and employees that have sufficient area according to regulations of law on standards and norms of office buildings of public service agencies, places for receiving clients and storing notarization documents.
(5) Conditions for the seal of the Notary Office
- Notary offices may have their own seals and accounts and shall operate on the principle of financial autonomy with their revenues coming from notarization charges, notarization remuneration and other lawful sources.
- Notary offices shall use seals bearing no national emblem.
- Notary offices may have their seals carved and use them after obtaining establishment permission decisions. Procedures and dossiers of request for permission for seal carving and management and use of seals of notary offices must comply with the law on seals.
What are the procedures for establishment of notary offices in Vietnam?
Pursuant to Article 23 of the 2014 Law on Notarization in Vietnam, the procedures for establishment of notary offices are as follows:
Step 1: Submit the dossier to the People's Committee of the province.
A dossier of request for establishment of a notary office must comprise:
- A written request on establishment of the notary office;
- A scheme on establishment of the notary office, clearly stating the necessity to establish the notary office, its expected organizational structure, name, personnel, location, physical conditions and implementation plan;
- Copies of appointment decisions of notaries jointly establishing the notary office.
Step 2: Receive the dossier
Within 20 days after receiving a complete and valid dossier of request for establishment of a notary office, the provincial-level People’s Committee shall consider and decide to permit the establishment of the notary office; in case of refusal, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason.
Step 3: Register the operation
Within 90 days after receiving the decision permitting its establishment, the notary office shall register its operation with the provincial-level Justice Department of the locality where the establishment decision is issued.
- The contents of operation registration of a notary office include:
+ The name of the notary office;
+ Full name of its head of its head office;
+ Full name of its address of its head office;
+ List of notaries being partners;
+ List of contractual notaries of the notary office (if any).
- A dossier of operation registration for a notary office must comprise:
+ A written operation registration request, papers proving the suitability of the notary office’s location with the contents stated in its establishment scheme;
+ Professional practice registration dossiers of notaries being its partners and contractual notaries (if any).
- Within 10 working days after receiving a complete operation registration dossier, the provincial-level Justice Department shall issue a written operation registration to the notary office; in case of refusal, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason.
- A notary office may conduct notarial activities on the date it is granted a written operation registration by the provincial-level Justice Department.
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