(Adopted at the 17th Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress on August 28, 2005)
Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Notarial Offices
Chapter III Notaries
Chapter IV Notarization Procedures
Chapter V Effect of Notarization
Chapter VI Legal Liabilities
Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 With a view to regulating notarization activities, ensuring that the notarization institutions and notaries perform their duties in accordance with the law, preventing disputes and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the natural persons, legal persons or other organizations, this Law is formulated.
Article 2 Notarization means an act performed by a notarial office, upon the application of a party concerned, to certify the authenticity and legality of a civil juristic act, a fact of legal significance and a document in accordance with the statutory procedures.
Article 3 A notarial office shall abide by the law and adhere to the principle of objectiveness and impartiality when performing notarial acts.
Article 4 China Notary Association shall be established as a national notary association and each province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government shall establish a local notary association. China Notary Association and local notary associations shall be social organizations with legal personality. The constitution of China Notary Association shall be formulated by the general assembly of the representatives of its members and shall be filed with the judicial administrative department of the State Council for record. The notary associations are self-disciplinary organizations of the notarization sector. They shall carry out notarial activities according to the constitution and shall carry out supervision over the practice of the notarial offices and notaries.
Article 5 The judicial administrative department shall supervise and guide the notarial offices, notaries and notary associations in accordance with the Law.