公證人 養成·任命制度의 檢討

A Study on the Training System of the Civil Law Notary

We take a dualistic notary system: One is a single-profession notary ruled and appointed by the Notary Act, and the other is a notary exercising also the profession as the attorney based on the Practicing Attorney Law. This article compares and analyzes the Korean notary system to the major advanced countries like France, Germany and Japan to enhance merits of a dualistic notary system and making up for the weak points. A ‘Notaire’ is a French civil law notary, a public officer nominated by the Keeper of the Seals, head of the Ministry of Justice. In Germany, the ‘Notar’ must have a legal training equivalent to the training of a judge or an attorney. He is obliged to provide independent and impartial advice to all contractual parties. Approximately 8,500 lawyers work as civil law notaries in Germany today. In roughly two thirds of the country civil law notaries practise as single-profession civil law notaries. In the other areas, civil law notaries exercise the profession as an additional office alongside with their activity as attorneys. For historical reasons, there are also state-employed civil law notaries in some parts of the State of Baden-Württemberg. However, the same professional rules apply to all civil law notaries. Procedural provisions, ethics and fees of the civil law notaries are governed by federal law and are therefore the same all over Germany. A ‘notary’ in Japan is a public official appointed by the Minister of Justice and works in the jurisdiction of a Legal Affairs Bureau in which he was appointed. In principle, anyone who passes the examination set by the Minister of Justice and completes more than six months’ training can qualify as a notary. However, this examination has not yet been held. This is because a judge, public prosecutor, or attorney can be appointed as a notary without taking such an examination and training. A ‘Notary Public’ -unlike most other countries in the world, in the U.S. a notary is not a specially trained lawyer. A Notary Public is a public servant appointed by the State to act as an impartial witness in taking acknowledgments, administering oaths and affirmations, and performing other acts authorized by state law. In the U.S. qualifications for the position vary little from state to state, and, in general, a notary must be a citizen of legal age and a resident of the area in which he desires appointment. In 1999, Alabama's first civil law notarial statute became law. Alabama is believed to have the model code for other states which do not have civil law notarial statutes.