The Federal Chamber of Notaries has been created with the funds of private notaries to protect their interests in representative, executive and judicial authorities. It is called upon to protect their rights not only in the territory of the Russian Federation, but also, if necessary, outside it.
What is a notarial federal chamber
The Notary Chamber is the union of all notaries, in the country and abroad, engaged in private practice. This is a commercial organization, existing at the expense of funds made mandatory by its participants. All members of the association are required to comply with the principles of transparency, legality and self-government.
Like any other commercial enterprise, it must be registered as a legal entity, have a current account, accounting forms and a seal. It may have its own, separate property, which is not taxed, unlike other commercial organizations. The organization may conduct trade and banking operations to generate additional income. To take part in litigation and be liable for violation of Russian law.
The number of organizations in each region is not regulated by law. Therefore, there can be two or more, but most often in each region there is no more than one federal notary chamber. This is due to the fact that the number of private notaries in each region is small, so there is no need for a larger number of institutions. In accordance with the same law, in each region or region, at least one chamber is required.
What is it for?
In addition to legal aid, the powers of the federal notary chamber include the obligation to provide advice and material assistance to notaries starting private practice. She grants interest-free loans, provides teaching materials, conducts internships, advanced training. She also deals with insurance of her members.
The organization was created not only to provide assistance and protect the interests of members of the association. But also to control their activities, to identify unscrupulous members of the chamber. That is, conduct regular checks, collect information about the settlements between the notary and his clients.
How and by whom is regulated
The activities of the notarial chamber are regulated by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. The basic law on its activities is called the “Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries”. It states:
- What should a notary public do to enter a chamber.
- What rights and obligations does he acquire after joining.
- What is it like?
- What regulatory bodies of the federal notarial chamber exist.
- What is the essence of their mission.
- By whom and how are they appointed and what are their rights and obligations.
- The procedure and amount of contributions and fees from participants.
In addition to this law, the activities of the federal notarial chamber in the Russian Federation are regulated by civil law and the charter of the notarial chamber.
How to enter
Any private or public notary can join the organization, but only after completing an internship and passing a special exam. To become a member of the Federal Notary Chamber, you must first complete an internship. Only after this, provided that the candidate is admitted to the exam, it is necessary to provide the following documents:
- passport;
- diploma of higher legal education;
- an employment contract as evidence that the candidate has completed an internship;
- letters of recommendation.
You need to find out about the admission two weeks before the exam. After that, permission will be issued to obtain a license. Next, you need to apply to the nearest branch of the chamber and make the first membership fee. Only after the name of the applicant enters the register of the Federal Notary Chamber, he can count on the position of a notary. For this, the corresponding vacancy should be vacated, since their number in the regions and in the country is limited by the legislation of the Russian Federation.
Rights and obligations of members
All members of the notarial chamber are required to regularly pay dues. Their size, as well as the amount of other fees, is determined by the annual meeting of all representatives of the federal notarial chamber.
The amount of mandatory payments depends on the amount of possible income and expenses (estimates) approved by the meeting for the next year. It may not be less than one percent of the gross income of each notary who is a member of the chamber, with the exception of some cases. For example, if a decision was made unanimously by all. At the same time, at least two-thirds of the participants shall participate in the voting.
If the decision on how much the amount was not made during the meeting, then it is considered set in the amount of 1%.
In addition to contributions, notaries are required to pay at least 50% of the notarial tariff when registering real estate pledge notifications via electronic communication channels. Contributions are not refunded to participants, unless extra amounts have been paid.
Participants are entitled to receive financial assistance for reimbursement of the costs of a forensic examination, in case they are charged with criminal acts, to pay for legal services, including a lawyer, legal costs and expenses related to restoration of reputation.
Conditions for obtaining support from the chamber
The conditions under which a private notary has the right to receive appropriate material and informational support are prescribed in the Charter of the organization in which it is registered. A member of the federal notary chamber has the right to demand assistance in violation of his rights. For example, in case of illegal deprivation of a license, illegal seizure of his property by other persons, libel, etc.
The notary can count on receiving recommendations from the federal notarial chamber, information assistance, regardless of whether his rights are violated or not.
NPF exit conditions
With the loss of the status of a notary, membership in the federal notary chamber ceases automatically. The same thing happens when non-payment of assessed contributions for at least 3 months. In the case of fraudulent actions by a notary public, the chamber can not only exclude an unscrupulous notary from the organization, but also apply to the court at the place of registration.
A notary may voluntarily leave the house, but on condition that he will not engage in private notarial practice in the future. Since by law only members of the chamber are entitled to deal with it.
Board structure
The Notary Chamber has a complex board structure. The activities of notaries are not easy, it is associated with property relations between people. For example, when confirming documents such as wills, there is a high risk that notaries will abuse their authority. To control their activities, specialists with different levels of education and training are needed. They should occupy different levels of power, and be responsible for their activities, in accordance with the scope of the rights granted to them. The bodies of the federal notarial chamber are:
- general meeting of participants;
- the president;
- governing body;
- revision Commission;
- other bodies, the creation of which is provided for by the charter of the notarial chamber.
During the meeting, participants shall select candidates for positions by universal suffrage. At the same time, it is worth noting that a person who is not a professional notary can be elected to the governing bodies.
The right to take up one of the above posts cannot be limited by the Charter of the organization. Moreover, one and the same person cannot hold the office of president for two consecutive periods.
Features of voting
When voting, private notaries have an advantage, since their votes are decisive, while other participants do not have this right. They can only advise to approve this or that decision, which can be made by notaries. For this to happen, at least half of all participating must vote.
Decisions of other bodies are adopted by universal suffrage, both by notaries and those members who are not. For a decision to be made, it must gain at least half the votes of all those gathered.
Terms of Reference
The notaries included in the meeting are themselves one of the governing bodies. In order for the notarial chamber to work stably and fulfill the functions assigned to it, they are obliged to carry out the management responsibilities assigned to them. Listed below are what the participants carry out within their powers:
- elect representatives of the board, the audit commission, as well as the president of the chamber;
- approve estimates of income and expenses for the next year;
- together with the judicial authority located in a certain region, determine the number of notaries;
- they listen to reports on the activities of the board, the audit commission and the president, on their work over the past year, they also listen to reports and reports of other persons whose messages may affect the organization;
- consider complaints against decisions and decisions of board members;
- determine the amount of assessed contributions and other payments for the next year;
- if necessary, amend the provisions in the Charter of the Federal Notary Chamber;
- approve the code of professional ethics for notaries.
In addition to economic and legal issues, they can also solve those that are related to the activities of notaries, which they are not able to solve on their own. Provided that this does not entail a violation of the laws and acts governing the activities of the notarial chamber of the federal and private notaries.